Oliver
by DreamMerchant447
Summary: Roy's son, Oliver doesn't know his mother's identity. When he tries to find his mother, he gets into a series of tragic events. Meanwhile, Drachma is planning to attack Amestris in next 1 month, and an internal Ishvalan rebel group is creating chaos in the country.
1. Bonds (Part 1 - Hikari)

" _Without determination, dreams remain just dreams"_

 **[Year 1900]**

15-year-old Roy was closing his eyes and murmuring something while standing at the front door of a house. He was trying to motivate himself because he was in a new place, and there was no one there who could give him some courage. His dreams were relying on a person who was behind that door…

"I can do this, I will persuade him to teach me alchemy"

He opened his eyes and with confidence, he knocked on the door and quickly stood like a new soldier on his first day in front of his senior. Five minutes passed, and no one opened the door. So, he knocked again, and still, no one opened the door. He kept on repeating the same thing for some time and still no one opened the door. He couldn't even hear any noise from inside the house. After trying for an hour, he assumed that no one was at home. But, his determination was way stronger. He decided to wait there till he meets the owner of that house and the man from whom he wanted to learn alchemy. He sat on the verandah which was quite big and pulled out a book from his bag and started reading it.

After an hour, a black-haired woman in her late fifties, wearing an Augsburg dress with a bun, along with a young short haired blonde girl, who seemed like 12-13 years old, wearing a frock, came with a bag of groceries. It was impossible for them to ignore Roy who was sitting on their verandah. When Roy saw them, he quickly stood up and greeted them instantly like a gentleman. It was rare to see a visitor at their place, so the old lady asked the boy out of curiosity,

"Who are you?"

The boy instantly replied without making her wait for a second,

"My name is Roy Mustang Ma'am and I am here to learn alchemy from Master Berthold Hawkeye"

It was rare enough for them to get a visitor, and finding a person asking to study there was unusual on a different level. So, the old lady tried to break Roy's determination. She spoke in the bluntest and most discouraging tone possible,

"Listen boy, Mr. Hawkeye does not like strangers. He has specifically told me not to allow any stranger inside the house. So, I am afraid you have to leave"

But, it was not easy to break Roy's rock solid determination. He was prepared for situations like that and replied to her very politely,

"Fine, I will be waiting out here. I will meet him in person when he comes out"

But, the old lady was also persistent in discouraging him. She instantly replied bluntly,

"He rarely comes out of the house… it might take days or weeks before you meet him and even if you meet him, he won't accept you as his disciple. So, leave before he makes you leave"

Roy also made sure to reply to her confidently,

"Ma'am, I have made up my mind to learn alchemy from Master Hawkeye. There is nothing in the world which can make me leave this place until I learn alchemy from him"

The young girl who was hiding behind the old lady was peeking Roy while he was speaking. When Roy looked at her, she again hid behind the old lady. The old lady was impressed by his determination but, she still didn't try to encourage him. Instead, she gave up and finished the conversation without wasting more time,

"Do as you please… but, don't mess with anything here"

She and the young girl entered the house and closed the door. Roy again sat on the verandah waiting for Berthold to come out. The old lady told Berthold Hawkeye about Roy and why he was there, but Berthold didn't consider that to be important and asked her not to disturb him. It was night and no one came out of the house, Roy slept at the verandah using a thin blanket which he brought with him. He was lucky that the place was not chilling at all.

Next day at early morning, when the old lady came out of the house, she found Roy sleeping on the verandah, tucked under his blanket like a turtle. Just a moment later, the young girl opened the door and came out to join the old lady. Both were amazed that the boy was still there by himself, in the open.

Both of them then left for the groceries to the nearby market. After some time, when they returned, they saw Roy was sitting on the verandah reading a book. When they approached near the door, Roy quickly stood up and greeted the old lady like the previous day, just like a gentleman,

"Good Morning Ma'am"

Then he looked toward the girl but, she quickly opened the door and got inside before he could speak to her. The old lady also ignored him and went inside. Roy sighed watching their reaction and sat again at his position to read. That day also passed just like the previous day, Berthold didn't come out of the house and Roy kept on waiting there.

Next day, when the old lady and the girl were returning from the market, they saw Roy was feeding a puppy. When they approached the door, Roy acted the same way he was acting from the past two days. But this time when he greeted, neither the old lady nor the girl went inside by ignoring him. The girl was looking at the puppy with white fur, jumping around Roy's legs. The old lady looked at Roy and responded to his greetings for the first time in a polite voice,

"Good morning"

She was curious about the food the puppy was eating, so she asked Roy out of curiosity,

"Are you feeding that puppy your own food?"

Roy replied with a "Yes" while moving his hand over his hairs and with a guilty grin on his face.

The old lady then looked at Roy's bag which was lying open on the ground. There were bits of breadcrumbs in his bag and a half eaten apple. She then looked at Roy and asked with the concern of a mother, after all, Roy was just 15 years old,

"What did you eat this morning?"

She correctly identified the scenario. Roy didn't have his breakfast that morning, he fed the only small piece of bread loaf he had left to the puppy. Now, he was only left with the half-eaten apple. He didn't know what should he say and started smiling embarrassingly. While he was smiling, his stomach growled and exposed the reality. Upon hearing the growl from Roy's belly, the old lady said,

"Looks like you haven't eaten much lately. Even your half-eaten apple looks like you ate it yesterday"

Meanwhile, the girl pulled out two apples from her grocery bag and offered it to Roy,

"Here, take these apples"

She was holding one apple in each hand. Roy looked at her and took those apples from her hands and thanked her.

The girl didn't reply to him and went inside with the old lady. After some time, the door opened and the young girl came out of the house alone. She saw Roy was sleeping on the verandah covering his face with the book he was reading, and the puppy was playing. She had brought some chicken pieces with her to feed the dog. She went closer to the puppy and gave it a chicken piece from the bowl she brought. The puppy started biting the chicken pieces. The girl was smiling looking at the puppy, she bent down to pat it, to which the puppy started wagging his tail in response. Suddenly she heard a familiar voice,

"Do you like dogs?"

The girl looked forward and saw Roy was awake and looking toward her. She was shy at first because she was not used to visitors at her house. Still, she moved over her shyness and replied

"Yes, they look cute and they are loyal too"

"Why don't you pet him then?"

"My father won't allow me"

When Riza used the word "father", Roy was clear that she was Berthold Hawkeye's daughter, but still, he asked,

"So, you are Master Hawkeye's daughter?"

"Yes"

"If you don't mind, may I know your name?"

The girl felt that he was a good person based on her perception of him for those two days. So, she decided to introduce herself,

"My name is Riza"

Roy also followed the formality and introduced himself to her,

"My name is Roy"

"I know, you told us your name on the first day" She informed him with a smile

Roy chuckled for the fact that she remembered his name, and said,

"I thought you forgot"

Riza then bent down to place the bowl of chicken she brought on the floor, and the puppy jumped on it. After giving the bowl to the puppy, she stood up and asked Roy,

"Do you really want to learn alchemy from my father?"

"Yes, I am not leaving this place until I learn alchemy from him" Roy replied with confidence in his voice

"Good luck with that" Riza mocked, but still Roy was not affected. Instead, he asked if there was any progress with the situation,

"Did you tell him about me?"

"He knows. Ms. Becker told my father about you on the first day, but he won't come. He doesn't like to meet peoples"

When Roy heard the name Becker, he got confused for a moment, but then he asked for clarification,

"Ms. Becker? The old lady?"

"Yes, she takes care of the house and teaches me sometimes"

It was an unusual finding for Roy. Riza never went to school. So, he asked with curiosity,

"Don't you go to any school?"

"No, Father doesn't want me to go to school, he teaches me at home"

Meanwhile, the puppy started barking and wagging his tail out of happiness, standing near Riza. Riza began to laugh when she saw the puppy's action. She was clearly in love with that puppy, so she asked the first question which popped into her mind to Roy,

"Have you given him a name yet?"

"Not yet…why don't you give him one?"

Riza was waiting for that moment and suggested a name instantly with excitement on her face,

"How about White Hikari?"

The name was unusual and weird on a different level. Roy was stunned, and while he was thinking on what he should reply, he was bombarded with the most dangerous question from Riza,

"Isn't it a cute name?"

Roy didn't want to argue, so he reacted like a typical man in front of his girlfriend, accompanied by a hesitant laugh

"Yes"

That was the day their friendship began which was going to stand against all odds with the passage of time.


	2. Bonds (Part 2 - Redhead)

" _Life is nothing but an aggregation of happy and sad moments"_

….

Two days had passed since Roy and Riza became friends, but still, the primary objective of Roy was not fulfilled. He was outside the Hawkeye residence, hoping that Berthold will come out one day. Because now Riza was spending more and more time with Roy and Hikari, the white furry puppy, Matilda had no choice but to stay alongside Riza. And gradually she grew fond of Roy. Riza used to bring board games outside and played with Roy and Matilda.

On an evening, Riza was playing with Hikari on the road in front of her house while Roy was reading a book at his usual place. Meanwhile, two boys of age around 13-14, in their suspender pants and round neck t-shirt approached Riza while she was playing with Hikari. One of the boys was a redhead while the other one was a black haired.

They slowly walked toward Riza and stood behind her. Riza was so involved with Hikari that she didn't notice that two boys were standing behind her. But when Hikari acted aggressively and started barking while looking behind Riza, then Riza turned around to find out the reason. She instantly recognized the two mischievous boys who bully her whenever and wherever they find her. So, she quickly stood up and moved away few steps from them, maintaining some distance in between. Both the boys were smiling like the devil while looking at Riza. Then the redhead boy said,

"Look who it is. Where is your nanny, Riza?" He said with all the intention of making her cry out of fear

The plan of those boys was working as they expected. Beads of sweat were appearing on Riza's forehead, clearly exposing her frightened state. Meanwhile, the black haired boy slowly moved toward Riza with an evil grin stuck on his face, and with each step, he was taking forward, Riza was taking the same number of backward steps.

Hikari who was standing beside Riza and continuously barking at the two boys leaped toward the black-haired boy in order to bite him. But unfortunately, he was just a puppy, he was cute but not ferocious, even though he was trying. Both the boys started laughing when they saw the puppy's actions, and within a moment, the redhead boy held him and picked him up.

When Riza saw that, she ran to protect Hikari, but she was held by the black haired boy before she could reach Hikari. The redhead then put Hikari in a small drum present there and started poking him with a thin branch of a tree. The redhead was enjoying watching Hikari in pain.

The black haired boy also felt the urge to accompany his friend, and he left Riza by pushing her on the ground. When Riza tried to protect Hikari, both the boys blocked her to see the puppy. She could only hear the puppy's cry which was making her anxious. And then suddenly, she heard a familiar voice,

"What do you think you are doing?"

Roy was standing at a distance like a hero to the rescue. When both the boys looked toward Roy standing confidently, they stopped hurting the puppy. Now their full attention was toward Roy. And getting the chance, Riza rushed toward Hikari to save him but, she was pushed back by the redhead. She fell on the ground due to the force. Meanwhile, Roy was slowly walking toward the boys like a badass. The boys thought because they had numbers on their side, they could easily take on Roy. With overconfidence, the black haired boy tried to provoke Roy and said

"Who are you? Riza's part-time nanny?"

Both the boys started laughing after mocking Roy, but they received an even more provoking reply,

"What if I am? At least I am not some douchebag who likes to hit girls or torture puppies for fun" Roy said in a very calm tone

Roy was successful in enraging both the boys. They charged toward Roy with the thin branches with which they were poking Hikari. The redhead first attacked Roy with the branch, but Roy dodged it and punched him on his face. When he disconnected his punch, the black haired boy pushed Roy on the ground. Roy fell on his back, but he was not alone to fall. The redhead boy was on the ground and his nose was bleeding due to the damage from Roy's punch. When the black-haired boy saw the bleeding nose of his friend, he was panicked for a moment and was distracted from his fight with Roy,

"Your nose!" He said with fear in his eyes

Roy took the advantage of the distraction and punched the black haired boy on his guts. The black haired boy held his stomach. He fell on his knees, joining his defeated friend and started groaning. Roy then stood up like a hero and shrugged off the dust from his shirt while giving a warning,

"I hope you learned your lesson," He said very casually

Both the boys stood up, one holding his bleeding nose and one holding his belly. When they fled away, Riza came to Roy holding Hikari in her arms,

"Thank you, Roy," She said with a smile

"You are welcome" Roy responded back with a smile

"I wish I could fight like you" She sounded like a bit disappointed in herself

"Well I don't know much fighting, but I can definitely teach you how to land a punch though" He chuckled because of the complement

"Really?" Riza got excited

"We are now friends after all. Aren't we?"

"Yes," She said with a smile

It was already evening so, she put Hikari on the ground and ran toward the house. While leaving, she assured both Roy and Hikari to meet them later

After sometime when the sun was set and a half moon was shining in the sky, Roy was sitting at his regular position with Hikari. While inside the house, it was a rare moment when Berthold and Riza were sitting on the dining table after he finished his dinner, for some conversation. Riza never felt comfortable talking to her father, because he rarely spent any personal time with her. The only times he talked to Riza was when he was teaching her or if there was something important to discuss. He homeschooled Riza, because of which Riza had no friends of her age.

The environment in the dining table was very tense, where Riza was staring at the table and Berthold was looking at her daughter. Matilda was also forbidden to get involved when Berthold was talking to Riza, so she was in the kitchen. And suddenly, the silence broke when Berthold spoke,

"You should stop feeding that boy. If you keep feeding him, he won't leave this place and it's not like he is doing any work to deserve the food you provide him"

Riza was afraid to reply at first. But, she gathered some courage to defend the only friend she made around her age, and replied in a low voice,

"But he cleans the front of the house every day and, today he protected me from two boys who were hurting me. He just wants to learn alchemy from you, why don't you teach him… he is a nice person" She was hesitating with each word coming out of her mouth

"I think I have already made myself clear, I am not going to teach alchemy to anyone" He spoke with authority

Berthold then stood up and left, concluding the discussion then and there.

After some time, Riza and Matilda got out of the house with some food for Roy. When Roy saw them, he stood up along with Hikari, who started running around Riza's leg showing his happiness. Roy was expecting some food, but still, he tried to show some humility,

"I told you, you don't need to do this for me"

"You need strength if you want to learn alchemy from my father, don't you?" She said while handing over the meat pie and stew she brought with her.

Roy took the food and thanked her and Matilda. Matilda had some work, so she asked Riza to get inside as soon as she handed over the food to Roy. Riza patted the puppy on his head and went inside the house after saying "Goodnight" to both Roy and Hikari. Matilda locked the door with the extra key she had and left for her home which was just 700-800 meter away from there. Matilda also took leave from Roy by saying "Goodnight". Sometime later, everybody was asleep inside the Hawkeye residence, and Roy was sleeping at the verandah with Hikari beside him as usual. Roy was sleeping happily, unknown from the fact that someone was keeping an eye on him.

When the people who were keeping an eye on Roy were sure that everyone was asleep, they attacked both Roy and Hikari with surprise. They held them forcibly and closed their mouth so that they couldn't make any noise, and took them to some distance so that their voice couldn't get inside the house. There were 5 boys out of which 3 were quite tall, around 6 feet or more. The other two were the same boys who were bullying Riza that afternoon and got beaten by Roy.

One of the big boys was a redhead while the other two were dark haired. When they took Roy and Hikari near a tree at some distance from the house, the redhead boy grabbed Roy's jaw tightly while the other two were holding his hands. The redhead closed into Roy's face and said,

"So you are the one who beat my little brother?"

He then removed his hands from Roy's face and punched Roy on his face. He punched Roy 3 to 4 times more, covering the face with blood. Two boys who were holding Roy's hand left him after that. Roy fell on the ground thinking that they took their revenge, but he was wrong. All three of them started kicking him, covering him with bruises and blood. He was hurt so bad that even making some sound was difficult for him. Meanwhile, the small redhead boy spoke to his big brother while holding Hikari in his arms,

"What shall we do with this puppy?"

"Do as you please" He said with some halts as he was busy beating up Roy with his friends

The two small boys looked at the puppy for a moment and then, the red-haired boy slammed Hikari on the ground and started kicking him. The puppy was groaning in pain. Meanwhile, the big boys had stopped beating Roy, who was still conscious…more like in half-dead state.

Right at that moment, he was feeling more pain in watching Hikari beaten to death. He was continuously saying them to stop in a very low voice but, the two boys were not stopping. After some time, Roy lost his consciousness while closing his eyes looking at Hikari getting beaten by those two boys.


	3. Bonds (Part 3 - Oliver)

" _A son is the closest imitation, a father can ever get of himself"_

 **[Present day]**

Roy was sleeping on his comfy bed, but he was sweating and grunting while closing his eyes. He was having a bad dream about the incident when he felt loss for the first time. He was dreaming about the puppy he loved, killed by some bullies. Fortunately, he escaped from the nightmare in a few moments. When he opened his eyes, he realized that he was just having a bad dream, so he calmed down and looked at the clock which was hanged on the wall in front of him. It was 7 AM in the morning, and he needed to reach his office in the next 2 hours.

Few months had passed since the battle at central command on the Promise Day. After winning the battle and exposing the Generals who were under the influence of Father, they were arrested and put in jail. Because of the vacancy created, Roy was now promoted to a Major General and Grumman became the new Fuehrer of Amestris. Moreover, Roy brought back his team to Central City. Even Havoc was reinstated back to the team when Dr. Marcoh fixed his spines. Roy now had the privileges of a General, that's why he had a big house and some servants. After finishing all his morning chores which were generally brushing, bathing, taking a dump and some exercise, he finished his breakfast and started getting ready for office. He was dressing in front of a big mirror. But, there was also a boy, around the age of 9 to 10, buttoning the shirt he was wearing. He was almost looking like a smaller and cuter version of Roy. Roy was looking at the boy's reflection on the mirror while getting ready, and he was enjoying watching the boy struggling with the array of buttons on the shirt, and for the fact that the boy was not asking for any help. And within a few moments, the boy finished up buttoning his shirt, so Roy spoke to him, now that he was relaxed.

"You never told me, how was your trip to Xing was like?" Roy spoke while dressing up and facing toward the mirror

"It was awesome" The boy replied excitedly

The boy was Roy's son, Oliver. Roy sent him along with her foster mother/aunt, Chris Mustang, to Xing, in order to keep them safe from the incident of promise day. Chris and Oliver spent quite a long time in Xing which made Roy worry a lot, but when he returned safe and happy, he was relieved

"Really?" Roy was surprised, yet in doubt

"Yes. I also learned a different kind of alchemy which they call alkahestry but, I can do only one technique"

Roy was even more surprised to find that Oliver learned alkahestry, which he didn't even know about. So, he got more curious and looked toward his son before asking the question,

"Who taught you that?"

"There was this girl named Mei who was a little older than me. When I told her that I am your son and will be staying in Xing for some time, she became my friend instantly. Later when I asked her to teach me alkahestry, she agreed"

Roy couldn't believe that his son learned alchemy as well as alkahestry just at the age of 9, even though he was not smooth in performing any of them. But, he was proud of him like every father should be of their son. He was smiling while looking toward his son, thinking about Oliver's achievements. Then he asked the question which he couldn't ask to him the day before when Oliver arrived at Central with his granny,

"Are you sure you want to stay with me in Central? Aren't you going to miss your friends and Ms. Anna?"

Anna was a woman who took care of Oliver along with other kids, in her orphanage in a small town of South Area. Roy kept Oliver hidden from the world, all this time to keep him safe from any potential danger which might occur because of his job.

"I told them before leaving that, it will be better for me if I stay with you and learn alchemy, that way I can become a state alchemist even before the age when Edward Elric became one" Oliver replied to his father like an adult

Oliver's answer made Roy slightly worry. He bent down in his uniform and put his hands on his son's little shoulders,

"Son, it's too early to take some burden like that. Enjoy your childhood, you should make some friends rather than studying and practicing alchemy you know" He said while looking into Oliver's eyes with a concerned face

"Don't worry Dad, I will be fine" He assured his father with a smile

After getting ready in some time, the father and son duo got out of their new big house. There was a car waiting for them outside, and a driver was standing beside the car. He opened the door for both of them and drove them straight to the Central Command.

Everything was going as usual in Roy's office. Havoc was watching the ceiling sitting on his chair while resting his healed legs on the desk. Breda and Falman were debating over some stupid thing and Fuery was enjoying their debate. Hawkeye had gone for a meeting with some other Military personnel. That's when the door opened and all team members looked at Mustang entering the office with a 9-10-year-old kid. Mustang greeted, "Hey everyone" and everyone responded individually,

"Good morning Sir," They said in a formal manner

Everyone was looking at the boy walking beside Roy. The environment was silent but still, Roy could sense the questions appearing in all of his subordinate's minds. Roy sat on the sofa and was looking very happy. Then he moved his arm around Oliver's shoulders with pride and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, even though everyone was curiously looking toward Oliver,

"Team, this is Oliver," He said proudly

A name was not enough to answers all the questions in his subordinate's mind, so he continued,

"He is the next in line to the Mustang family and my only son"

Everyone was shocked when they heard Roy's answer. They started looking at Roy and then Oliver, back and forth. They could see that Oliver was, in fact, a spitting image of Roy. The entire team's eyes were widened out of the surprising revelation. They couldn't control their emotions and shouted at the same time,

"WHAT? YOUR SON?" They said with their enlarged eyes directed toward Roy

After sometime when everything calmed down, Havoc was the first one to ask a question,

"Chief" He spoke to get the attention of his superior

"Yes, Jean?" Roy replied with energy because he was excited to finally reveal his son to his team

"Chief, don't get me wrong but, all these years you never let me date a girl properly and now you come to us and say that YOU HAVE A SON?" Havoc let his grudge out for all the times when Roy destroyed his date life

"I think you should thank me for that. Should I remind you whom did you dated once?" Roy replied calmly with a cold gaze and tense face, reminding Havoc of Lust

Havoc was speechless. So, Fuery took the turn and spoke to Oliver with a smile,

"So Oliver, how old are you?"

"Nine" Oliver replied instantly

Meanwhile, Havoc again shot his question at his superior,

"When can we meet your wife, Chief?" Havoc was trying to tease his superior by making faces which was clearly not working, so he stopped

"The thing is…"

Roy was hesitating to speak any more on that matter, and because everyone was looking at him for the answer, he was getting uncomfortable. But then, his son saved him by replying on his behalf

"She left us" He appeared a bit sad while speaking about his mother

Roy decided to stop the conversation on that uncomfortable topic, so he interrupted

"Can you please not ask anything about his mother?" He requested

Everyone adhered to Roy's request and talked on some other topic to make Oliver feel good. After sometime when Oliver was comfortable with his team, Roy asked Fuery,

"Fuery, why don't you take Oliver and show the central command?"

Oliver got excited when he heard his father's idea, his eyes started sparkling with only the thought of meeting other state alchemists. He was looking toward Fuery for an answer,

"Sure Sir," Fuery said

Oliver then went with Fuery but, before they could open the exit door of the office, someone opened it and entered inside. Oliver saw a blonde woman in front of him, whom he instantly recognized

"Ma'am!"

He ran toward Riza and hugged her. Riza was also startled when she saw him. She was unable to comprehend the situation, but she calmed down when she felt his warm hug. She bent down and kissed Oliver on his cheek who was very happy to meet her. Then she looked at him and said,

"When did you come to Central?" She sounded affectionate which was not one of her feature in her team's eyes

The team was shocked to find that Riza already knew Oliver.

"WHAT? SHE KNOWS OLIVER?" The team asked in a loud voice in a synchronized way

"Yesterday" Oliver replied to Riza's question

Riza then stood up properly and looked at Roy with an angry face

"General, at least you could have told me Oli was coming. I could have picked him up from the station" She said more than just that with her enraged eyes which only Roy could understand

"Yes, I should have" He replied with a guilty laugh

Riza talked with Oliver for a while and found out that he was going to live in Central which again made her angry because Roy didn't tell her. While she was talking to Oliver, Roy was avoiding coming anywhere in the proximity of her. After some time, Oliver left with Fuery to get a tour of Central command. Before leaving, when Riza told him that Hayate was in the Central Command, Oliver got more excited and left quickly with Fuery

When Oliver was gone, Havoc shot the question which was bugging him from a while

"It looks like you know Oliver very well" His question was directed to Riza, but he got the reply from Roy instead

"What's the big deal in that? She is my aide and personal assistant if you remember."

Meanwhile, Falman remembered something and displayed his emotion out loud by mistake,

"SHIT"

Everyone's attention was now directed toward Falman which made Falman more uncomfortable and he spoke before anyone could ask any question, especially Roy

"Sorry Chief" He spoke with a guilty smile, exposing his teeth

Roy sensed something fishy when he saw Falman uncomfortable and Breda sweating. He gave them a glaring look and asked,

"Tell me" Roy spoke very calmly, yet his eyes were telling a different story

Falman didn't speak for a few moments, but they were trembling because of Roy's glare. And then, Breda couldn't hold more and had to tell the truth while facing the floor.

"Actually, the thing is…" Breda was hesitating to proceed

"Are you testing my patience?" Roy's voice was like a calm flame which was waiting to burn them

"According to your order, Falman and I went to your house yesterday to fetch the old books for binding" He sounded afraid

"Yes, what about it?" Roy was taking an interest, so Breda had to continue

"We gathered all the old books, there were 6 of them. We then went to the binding shop you told us about, but it was closed, so we decided to go the next day and went to the bar. After we had some drinks, we left for home but…" He paused for a moment

Roy got impatient when Breda stopped speaking, so he yelled,

"BUT WHAT?"

Breda was afraid, so Falman gathered courage and continued the story,

"But, we left your books at the bar. When I remembered that we left your books there, I went there to retrieve them but, they were already gone and, the bar-tender was clueless who took them"

"I see" He replied calmly and then he followed it by a question,

"Was there any book which had a brown cover and 'BH' written over it?" Roy seemed very curious from the way he was looking at Falman and Breda

"Yes" Falman replied with a little hesitation

"Major, please bring me my gloves?" Roy politely asked Riza

Fortunately, Roy had a meeting which was reminded to him by Riza,

"There is no time for that Sir. We have a meeting now"'

She stood up and went toward the door with some documents. Roy had no option but to follow her. But while leaving, he threatened Falman and Breda

"I will see you later, boys"

After Roy was gone, Falman and Breda sat on their chair taking a sigh of relief.


	4. Bonds (Part 4 - The King)

" _A King's rule comes to an end one day or another. No matter how strong or prominent he is."_

 **[Unknown time, Unknown place]**

A 6 feet tall young man with a well-proportioned body and shoulder-length hair was walking through knee deep snow. There was no tree in the surrounding and the climate was blowing snowy wind. A normal human being would have a hard time surviving in those conditions, but that man was walking through the snow at a constant pace. In fact, he was wearing nothing on his upper body, as if he was mocking the harsh conditions.

His hairs were of the same color as the snow and his eyes were green like a lush forest. He was showing no sign of struggle while walking through the snow. It was like nature was taking his test, and he was beating every obstacle with ease. But then appeared nature's most difficult obstacle.

There was a big polar bear standing in the man's way, ferociously glaring at him. But, the man stood firm, refusing to back away or change his path. He kept on walking forward fearlessly toward the bear. The bear was not going to allow any creature in his territory to show dominance over him, and the man was clearly refusing to bow down before the white monster. The bear roared as if warning the whole surrounding that it was his territory and no one could disrespect him. Then he charged toward the man fiercely.

The man was clearly in front of death, but when the bear pounced at the man, the bear felt a heavy blow on his furry chest. And the next moment, the bear fell on the snowy ground breathing his last breath. The man decided to show the bear mercy and ended the bear's pain by delivering a killing blow to his heart.

…..

 **[April 1915, a month after the promised day]**

It was night in Othon, the capital of Drachma, and the streets were illuminated from the gaslight lamps. The most important place in the whole of Drachma, the King's palace, was shining like the moon in the night. And on the top floor of the palace, a middle-aged man was looking at the beautiful city, standing at the balcony of a hall. He was wearing a furry coat, made from the polar bear he killed a long time ago. He was enjoying the silence, but suddenly he heard the doors to the big hall opening, and footsteps of 2 men broke the silence.

Both the men were one of the most powerful figures of Drachma. The first man was wearing a higher rank Drachmann military uniform. He had a bulky body with a height of 6.5 feet, making him look like a monster. His fair complexion was contrasting in the presence of his black hairs which were combed backward and his bushy handlebar mustache. One could easily guess that he was in his 50s by watching the few fresh wrinkles on his face. His name was **Clifton Kozlov, the Marshal of the Drachmann Federation** , the man above all the military forces and weaponry of Drachma.

The second man was around the age of the Marshal, but he was shorter and thinner than him. He also liked to comb his shoulder-length black hair with strands of white, in a backward fashion. But his brown complexion was uncommon in Drachma. Moreover, he liked to wear a black round neck suit with a red shawl around it. One could easily confuse him for an Ishvalan, but his eyes were black unlike the scarlet eyes of the Ishvalans. His name was **Sieglaff, the Prime Minister of Drachma** , the man responsible for all the internal affairs of the country.

When both of them entered inside the hall, they stood at a distance from the man wearing the polar bear coat, and let him know their presence as a formality,

"My King," Both of them said after bowing their head

The man turned around and walked past them to sit at the head chair of the oval table in the hall like a true ruler. Both of them followed him and asked for his permission to sit, which the King granted by nodding his head. So, both of them took their seats, opposite each other. After everyone was settled, the discussion was started by Marshal Clifton,

"Bradley is dead. And, the new Fuehrer of Amestris is Grumman. He was a General posted at the East City" Clifton said

"This time I hope you are not going to attack Briggs, just because an Amestrian told you something" Sieglaff mocked Clifton by bringing up one of his subordinates mistake, who attacked Briggs on his own after receiving some information from the Crimson Lotus Alchemist, Solf J. Kimblee

"General Semenov acted on his own, good thing he died out there, otherwise I would have killed him myself for leading so many of my soldiers to their death" Clifton fisted the table with anger

"Maybe because you are not a capable leader" Sieglaff insulted Clifton

Clifton couldn't take on the insult and reply fiercely,

"How dare you doubt on my leadership capability?"

Suddenly, they both got interrupted by the man heading them,

"Sieglaff," He called very calmly

As soon as both of them heard their King's voice, they stopped quarreling.

"Yes, my King?" Sieglaff responded to the King

"Did you find out what happened at the central command of Amestris?" The King asked Sieglaff

"Yes, my King. A battle happened there as you know. According to our sources, an unknown young man appeared from beneath central command. He was so powerful that no weapon was working against him, he was also able to produce human beings from within his body…."

Sieglaff told everything that happened during the promised day. While finishing his verbal report, he said,

"I tried to find out who that young man was. We were unable to find much about his history except that, he was below the central command the whole time and, the homunculus referred to him as…"

"Father," The King interrupted

When the King completed the sentence, Sieglaff and Clifton started looking at him with surprise because it was a piece of information which was known to some handful of people in Amestris. So, Sieglaff got curiosity and said,

"Did you know him, my King?" He asked very politely

The King thought for a moment and replied with a "No"

Sieglaff didn't ask any follow-up questions due to the respect he had for the King. Instead he drove the conversation to the main issue, and said,

"Bradley is dead and Amestris is looking very vulnerable for the first time. I propose we make a plan to attack Amestris"

"Minister Sieglaff, do you really think we couldn't have beaten Bradley and his army of alchemists? Our force is far more terrifying than any country, it is just that our King didn't want to attack Amestris" Clifton sounded dissatisfied

After listening to Clifton, the King stood up and started walking toward the door. Both Sieglaff and Clifton were confused on why he was leaving the room without making a decision. But then their anxiety disappeared when the King spoke while facing his back to them,

"Fine Clifton, you have my permission to prepare for war. I am bored of this cold weather anyways. I wonder how the Fuehrer's residence feels like" The King said

The King then left the room. That was the first time, Sieglaff and Clifton listened to something related to war from the King's mouth. They were excited, now that they were allowed to conquer Amestris for real this time.


	5. Bonds (Part 5 - Northerners)

" _A woman who knows what she brings to the table is not afraid to eat alone"_

 **[Present Day, Central Command]**

After sending Oliver with Fuery to let him have a tour of Central Command, Roy indulged himself in a heated conversation with Falman and Breda for a certain book they lost in a bar. The book was very valuable to Roy for some reason and losing it made him a bit upset. Fortunately, Roy had a meeting due to which Breda and Falman were saved from their superior's wrath. While going to the meeting room through the hallway with Riza, Roy was still upset about the book he lost. He kept on complaining to Riza about Breda and Falman like a child,

"Those idiots, how could they be so irresponsible?" Roy expressed his anger

"Why are you so worried about some books?" Riza asked

"Because one of those books was Master's" Roy sounded upset

Riza then understood why he was so worried, and she empathized with him. It was the final gift from her father to Roy after all. But, Berthold didn't give the book to Roy directly, instead, he requested Riza to give it to Roy after his death. Once Roy joined the military, Berthold stopped talking to Roy like he used to. But, during his last moments, he opened up to Roy in order to express himself as much as he could.

The meeting room was still some distance away, and the hallway was almost vacant. So, Riza asked the question which was bugging her from a long time,

"Why didn't you tell me Oli was in Central?" She asked politely

When Roy heard Riza's question, he got out of the thought of losing his Master's book. His all focus was now on avoiding a mad Riza,

"We were having fun till the evening and by the time we returned home, he was very tired so, I thought of informing you later" Roy replied

"So, that is your excuse?" Riza sounded angry

Roy understood that he should have said her sorry, before giving her an explanation so casually. But, it was not too late to say sorry. So, he stopped walking and looked toward Riza. Riza had to stop because of her superior, and looked toward him,

"Sorry, I should have let you know" Roy apologized genuinely

Riza calmed down after listening to his apology. She didn't say anything, and resumed walking toward the meet room, followed by Roy. While walking she again said something related Oliver,

"Anyways, now that Oli will be staying at Central, I think you should homeschool him"

Riza was homeschooled throughout her life, so she was biased toward homeschooling. But, Roy had a different view, he put the most obvious alternative,

"He needs to make friends and he cannot do it until he joins a school. You are being overprotective you know?"

"What's wrong with that?" Riza said

Meanwhile, they had reached the meeting room and were standing before the entry door. Riza opened the door for Roy to enter, and followed him after his entrance. When they entered inside, they saw General Olivier Mira Armstrong and Major Miles were already waiting for them. They were sitting on one side of the oval table present there.

When Roy and Riza took their seat opposite to the Northerners, Olivier looked at Roy with an annoyed face and said,

"I can't believe you became a General" Her voice was full of displease

But, Roy was well prepared to counter comments like that. He said,

"I guess there was no one else better than me to fill the shoes"

Olivier was impressed by Roy's answer and his composure. So, she smiled and said,

"Well said, Mustang"

Roy then took the discussion to the main issue, and asked,

"So, why did you bother to come here?"

"You must be aware that after Bradley died, our neighboring countries are thinking we are vulnerable" Olivier replied

"Yes, I talked to the Fuehrer about this. He is going to increase forces at East, West and South and at least one state alchemist is going to be appointed at each command" Roy said

"What about North? Isn't he going to increase forces in the north?" Olivier asked curiously when she didn't hear North in his reply

"Food supply is a problem at north. So your forces will be provided with the best ammunition and better state alchemists instead of soldiers"

Meanwhile, Miles entered the discussion,

"There is one other issue in North according to our sources. Drachma has some secret weapon which they are going to use against Amestris. We don't know what kind of weapon it is or how does it work. We would like to request the Fuehrer to initiate a covert mission to Drachma and get information as soon as possible"

"How much time do we have?" Roy asked

"Approximately 1 month" Miles answered

"I see" Roy showed his concern

Meanwhile, Riza reminded every one of the upcoming plans. She said with a potential proposition,

"Next week, some people from the Xingese royal family are coming for an official meet. Shall we call off the visit?"

"No, we don't need to cancel that. This is a very important meeting and they are going to stay for 3 days, so I don't think we will have a problem" Roy replied

"I agree, all we need is a covert operation and, if we cancel some major event like this, Drachma might take a notice and change their plan" Olivier put her opinion

The meeting lasted for more than 2 hours, where they discussed every potential alternatives and issue. After the exhausting meeting, everyone relaxed for a moment on their chair. Roy then asked,

"Are we done then?"

"Yes, but It would have been better if Fuehrer had been here. Where is he?" Olivier said

"He has gone to visit Ms. Bradley" Riza answered

Riza then lifted the glass of water to quench her thirst. She was slowly drinking some water when Miles asked Roy politely,

"General Mustang if you won't mind, can you please tell us if it's true that you have a son?"

Roy smiled and answered him with a "Yes"

Like everyone else, Olivier also perceived Roy as a person who indulges himself with multiple women. So, when she found out that he was a father, and he proudly admitted it, she couldn't wait, but to ask a cruel question,

"I didn't know you will be a man to settle down. Who is the unlucky woman?" She asked very casually

But, instead of damaging Roy, it seemed like Riza was affected more. On hearing Olivier's question, Riza coughed and sprinkled the water she was drinking on the table. Because of her reaction, everyone's attention was now toward Riza. But, Riza maintained her composure and put the glass of water on the table. She then pulled out a napkin from her coat pocket, wiped her lips and the region close to her lips. Then she said very calmly,

"Sorry for that"

"It's alright Major. I know you are way too smart to be that unlucky woman" Olivier said with the intention of mocking Roy

Olivier then stood up and continued while looking toward Roy,

"I don't have an interest in your personal life, Mustang. You don't have to answer me" She said in a stoic tone

Olivier and Miles then left the meeting room. Roy took a sigh of relief while relaxing on the chair he was sitting, and spoke to show all his frustration before Riza,

"Man, that woman is such a pain. I guess, you two will get along pretty well, Major"

After saying that, when he looked toward Riza, he saw Riza's face, which was screaming at him, "Gunshots". He realized what did he just say, and gulped out of fear.


	6. Farewell (Part 1- Berthold)

_"Just like a potter shapes their clay articles, a teacher shapes their disciples"_

 **[Year 1900]**

That night was the most painful night ever for Roy. He was beaten to a pulp and the puppy with whom he just had a lovely friendship was killed right before his eyes. It doesn't matter whether that someone is a human or not, once we lose them, it takes quite a while to understand that we should move on. And if that someone is taken from us, we let our rage consume us, and plunge us into the darkness of revenge.

After losing his consciousness, Roy finally returned to reality. He was closing his eyes when he heard some faint noise which kept on getting stronger. And finally, he could hear someone speaking near him. It was the voice of a girl. She was talking to someone,

"Miss Becker, I think he is waking up"

Roy then heard some footsteps, and he opened his eyes to find out what was going on. When he opened his eyes, he saw Ms. Matilda Becker and Riza were looking at him. When he saw around him, he found himself on a bed. Moreover, he was covered in bandages.

Watching Roy awake, Matilda asked,

"How are you feeling?" She said with the concern of a mother

Roy was already looking very anxious. So, instead of replying to Matilda's question, Roy asked his own question,

"What happened? Where is Hikari?"

When Riza heard Roy asking about Hikari, her eyes filled with anguish and her chin started trembling. She was trying hard to hold in her tears, but they slipped out finally. In order to hide her tears, she ran out of the room.

Roy could not figure out why she ran. So, he looked toward Matilda and asked,

"Why did she run away?"

"Roy" Matilda spoke his name and stopped

Roy was desperately looking at Matilda, but she was hesitating to tell him the truth. Finally, Matilda had to give up. She looked at Roy with a sad face, and said with a heavy voice,

"Hikari is dead"

Roy was speechless. He was in complete disbelief,

"B…b…but, how? It can't be true. How can he die?" He stuttered

"When I was returning home this morning, I found you badly beaten, lying against a tree, and Hikari was also there, lying beside you. The only difference between him and you was that you were breathing and he was not. Riza and I buried him in our backyard" She said slowly and with a heavy voice

Images of the incident then started appearing in Roy's mind in flashes. He remembered last night when he was beaten and saw Hikari getting beaten by those kids. Roy's eyes filled with tears, he couldn't believe that he failed to protect Hikari.

He was so disappointed and angry with himself that he forced himself out of the bed and fell on the floor. Matilda ran to him and tried to help him get on the bed, but he refused to take any help. Matilda got concerned because of his activities and asked with a worried face,

"What are you doing?"

Roy was unable to stand up but, he kept on crawling toward the door. He was in a lot of pain and the tears of disappointment were dropping from his eyes. When Matilda again tried to help him, he yelled at her,

"DON'T STOP ME. I AM A FAILURE, YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT ME TO DIE OUT THERE"

He continued to crawl toward the door, and finally, when he reached there, he saw someone's feet. He looked up to see who that was, and saw a tall man in his forties, wearing a white shirt, black trousers and a maroon shawl around his shoulder. The man's blonde hair was pretty untidy.

It was Berthold Hawkeye, the man for whom Roy was waiting all these days outside the house. Berthold looked down on Roy, and asked a rhetoric question,

"I thought you came here to learn alchemy?"

Roy's tears were stopped. He was stars trucked, he spoke slowly,

"Master Hawkeye?"

"I haven't accepted you as my disciple yet. And, I might not accept someone who cannot face the harsh truth of reality. What is born, must die one day, that's the law of nature. If you cannot accept the law of nature, then you are not ready to learn alchemy" Berthold replied in a stoic voice

"But, I could have saved Hikari" Roy sounded disappointed in himself

"You already saved him when you decided to take care of him. If you would not have been present outside my house that day, then the puppy would have died eventually out of hunger or killed by some other dogs" Berthold said

Roy did not know what to say after that. He lowered his head to avert his eyes from Berthold. But, Berthold bent down to help him get up and Roy didn't fight back as he did with Matilda. Berthold helped him go to the bed and lie there. Then he said,

"Now rest. The quicker you get well, the sooner we can start with your training"

Finally, after all his long wait, Berthold accepted him as his disciple but, he didn't seem happy. He didn't even react, he was continuously staring at the ceiling, thinking about his failure. Berthold understood that he was angry, so as a teacher, he fulfilled his first responsibility by giving him some wisdom. He said with empathy,

"I know, you are angry. I know you want to take revenge, but it will lead you nowhere. Taking an eye for an eye is never the right option, if everybody decides to take an eye for an eye then the whole world will be left with blinds, and you know as well as I know that we cannot appreciate the beauty that the world has to offer us, if we cannot see"

Roy looked at Berthold with his sad eyes, and asked with a heavy tone,

"Then what should I do? Just let them go? Even after what they did?"

"Yes, and promise me, after learning alchemy you will only use it to help people, not hurt" Berthold replied

Roy could not say anything for a moment. He was continuously looking at Berthold, trying to hold down his tears and control his trembling chin. Then finally, he looked away from Berthold and replied,

"I promise"

Berthold then looked at Matilda, who was standing at the other side of the bed, and said,

"Ms. Becker, Roy will be staying in your room from now on, and you will be staying with Riza"

"Fine, whatever you say. Anyways, your daughter comes to my room every night so, it won't be a new thing for me" She replied with a little extra information

"Why does she sleep in your room?" Berthold enquired

"If you had ever tried to be like a father, then you would have known. She doesn't have any friends so, she likes to talk with me every night and falls asleep in my bed" She answered like she was scolding

After getting the answers, Berthold remained calm as if he was not surprised by the new information. He then turned around and left the room without speaking a word.

It took some time for Roy to get well, both mentally and physically. After getting well, he started going to the common study room where Berthold used to keep his books, and studied there. Riza also started spending more and more time in the study room with Roy. Riza always lacked a friend, which was now fulfilled by Roy's presence. Sometimes when they were not having any work or study to do, they used to go to the nearby lake and rest under an unusual black olive tree which was big, shady, without thorns and had never borne fruit. The tree was a landmark of that town.


	7. Farewell (Part 2- Hawkeyes)

" _Every man was once a boy"_

 **[Year 1901]**

A year had passed since Berthold accepted Roy as his disciple. And Roy had to make a promise to his teacher that he wouldn't use alchemy to hurt people. Roy could now perform some basic alchemy like project objects out of transmutation circles made on the ground and fixing few broken things.

One afternoon Roy and Riza were sitting under the shady olive tree beside the lake as usual. Roy was showing some new transmutation techniques to Riza by creating some wooden figurine out of the broken branches of the olive tree, by placing the branches in the transmutation circle he created on the ground. He was struggling in the process, but Riza kept on encouraging him. Meanwhile, Riza saw 5 boys were approaching toward them, and it was impossible for her, not to recognize them. They were the same boys who beat Roy and killed Hikari a year back. After that incident, the three big boys who beat Roy disappeared for some reason but, now they were there once more. They were slowly approaching toward Roy and Riza, while Roy was facing his back to them. Roy understood that something was wrong when he saw Riza was not paying any attention to his alchemy and she was in discomfort. He turned around to find the reason and saw those boys standing right in front of him. Roy was startled when he suddenly saw those boys. The pain from a year back that Roy tried to forget, returned at an instant. Roy quickly stood up and watching his reaction, all the boys started laughing.

"Long time no see, Loser. Looks like you have recovered," the older redhead said while smirking. He continued, "Sorry we were not available to whoop your ass"

He was trying to provoke Roy, and it was working. Roy's eyes were full of rage, ready to burn all those five bullies standing before him. But, before he could do anything, he felt a soft palm surrounding his wrist. Riza tried to pull him by grabbing his wrist, in order to avoid any conflict.

"Let's go, Roy," She requested desperately

Roy was persuaded for a moment and turned around to leave with Riza. But, before he could leave, he heard something enough to hurt his ego.

"Go, Roy, go. Go and play with dolls with her," the older redhead mocked, and the remaining 4 boys laughed at the comment like a pack of hyena

Roy wanted to turn around and punch him, but he felt even a stronger grip from Riza, because of which he decided to let it pass. When the comment didn't work, the older redhead brought something out of the past.

"Wait a minute, if I remember, you had a dog right?" The older redhead said.

Roy couldn't control his emotions anymore when he heard the redhead speaking about Hikari. He freed his hands from Riza's grip which had already weakened as if she also wanted Roy to punish them for mocking Hikari. Roy turned around and charged toward the redhead boy to punch him. But he was caught by the gang before he could land a punch on that redhead's face.

Once Roy was held by the gang, the redhead boy punched hard on Roy's belly. Roy fell on the ground after the gang left him, and lied there holding his belly. The redhead then looked at Riza who was terrified watching Roy getting beaten. The gang walked closer to Riza and looked down at her.

"Hey, you are Riza Hawkeye, right? You weren't there when last time we beat the crap out of him, right? Let us show you how we did it." The redhead said with a grin on his face

He then turned toward Roy with his gang. Riza was weak in front of those big boys, but still, she ran toward the boys to stop them, and she was caught by the two small boys who were of the same age as of Riza. When the other three boys reached near Roy, Roy suddenly sat straight and placed both of his hands on the transmutation circle, which he created while the boys were not paying attention to him.

"Sorry master, I think I have to break my promise today," Roy said in a low voice.

Sparks of blue light started appearing on the transmutation circle he created, and the boys were unable to comprehend on what they were witnessing. And soon, three big distorted pillars, protruded out of the ground, near the 3 big boys and threw them in the air. The three boys flew to some height and fell on the ground due to which they got injured. The older redhead boy stood up quickly and pulled out a knife from his pocket and rushed toward Roy. Roy tried to protrude a wall between the redhead and him, but the wall was like 3 feet high. Fortunately, the wall protruded just below the legs of the redhead and hit him at the most delicate part of any man. Soon after that, the redhead fell on the ground.

The other 2 boys who were holding Riza were terrified. Meanwhile, Roy stood up and walked toward Riza. Even though Roy was coming toward them, the 2 small boys were holding Riza's arm even while shivering in fear.

"From now on, please don't bother us," Roy spoke very politely when he was close enough.

Even though Roy spoke politely with them, they could easily see the rage in his eyes. They left Riza and ran away from there along with their big brothers.

After few days, the older boys were caught by the military police and were taken to Central City in charge of thievery. The three of them had committed thievery at East City and were hiding in the town, but somehow military police got the information and caught them. Now, there was no one to bother Roy.

Time was passing, leading Roy and Riza to the stage of maturity and responsibility. Roy kept on learning practicing alchemy under the supervision of Berthold and kept on making a lot of happy moments with Riza.

Sometimes, Roy used to carry Riza on a bicycle's back to give her a tour of the grassy fields, while sometimes Riza used to make stew which Roy loved to eat. Sometimes, they made plans together to prank Matilda, which sometimes worked and sometimes backfired, still the joy remained same. Time kept on flying, and Roy was now 18 years old while Riza was almost 16.

One day a mail came to Hawkeye residence from the military. Unfortunately, Matilda fetched the mail and took it to Berthold. Berthold saw the envelope, and found that it was addressed to Roy. Berthold despised the military, so out of curiosity he opened the envelope to find out what the military had to do with his disciple. After reading the letter, Berthold went to the common study room where Roy was studying alone and closed the door. Berthold walked toward Roy and sat on the chair on the other side of the study table where Roy was studying. Berthold then put the letter on the table and asked with authority,

"Why didn't you tell me that you were going to join the military?"

Roy knew that Berthold despised the military, so he averted his eyes from his teacher and looked down at the table.

"I thought you will be mad," Roy replied with a guilty voice

Berthold sighed to let go of the little anger he had for his disciple, and asked the next question, "Why did you join the military?"

"I think that's the only way I can make some difference. Once I become a state alchemist, I can use alchemy for helping others like you always taught me," Roy replied.

"No matter what you become in the military, you will still remain their dog, and one day you might die like a dog, left to die like a trash on the side of the road, "Berthold replied in a raised voice. And soon after he finished off his sentence, he covered his mouth with his hand and coughed.

When Roy heard Berthold, he raised his head and looked annoyingly at his master, and replied with his voice raised, "It's better to be a dog and make some difference rather than becoming a great alchemist and doing nothing for this country"

Berthold looked at Roy surprisingly because of the way he reacted. Roy understood that he crossed his limits by disrespecting his master, and apologized immediately in a calm voice,

"Sorry Master"

"Hmmm," Berthold accepted Roy's apology by nodding his head. Then he sighed in order to calm down before speaking to his disciple.

"I think I told you what I think was right for you, rest is up to you." He coughed by covering his mouth with his hand, once he finished off his sentence.

Roy got concerned when he saw his master coughing, and asked, "Are you, okay Master?"

"I am fine, "Berthold replied

Roy could clearly see some blood on Berthold's palm when he removed his hand from his mouth. Berthold then stood up and left the room.

Soon Riza and Matilda got to know that Roy was joining the military and that he was leaving for Eastern headquarter for the training process after a month. When the time came, Roy wanted to meet his master before leaving for the station, but Berthold remained inside his room that day, locking it from inside, and Roy had to say goodbye from outside the door. Riza and Matilda, on the other side, went to the station with Roy, unlike Berthold.

The train was already at the station and was about to leave in the next ten minutes. Roy looked at Matilda and Riza and said, "I think we can't play games very often now." He smiled to hide his sadness.

"Don't get beaten there, because I can't go there to treat you." Matilda tried to lighten the environment by teasing Roy.

"Don't worry Ms. Becker, there are doctors who can treat me better than you" Roy responded by mocking her instead.

"You ungrateful boy. Take care." Matilda smiled and hugged Roy.

After hugging Matilda, Roy looked at Riza's frowned face. And before Roy could say a word, she hugged him tightly and started crying out loud on his shoulders. In order to soothe her, he gently rubbed her back with his palm, and said,

"Heyyyyy, why are you crying? You know how much I love your stew, I will be coming frequently. Just make sure that when I come, you have my stew ready"

Riza stopped hugging him and stopped crying. She wiped her tears, and said,

"Idiot." She chuckled while speaking.

"Well, this idiot will one day become a king," Roy replied.

"And who's going to become this idiot's queen?" Riza asked.

Meanwhile, the train started discharging smoke from the chimney and blowing the loud horns. Roy didn't answer to Riza's question, and said,

"I think its time to go"

Roy picked up his luggage and ran to board the slow moving train. He stood at the bogie's entrance and waved his hands at Matilda and Riza, to which they reciprocated by waving their hand. Soon the train left the station and Roy took his farewell from the Hawkeyes to join the military.


	8. Farewell (Part 3- Briggs)

" _Water has two aspects, life and death"_

 **[Present day – North City]**

A train from Central City arrived at the railway station of North City, and along with lots of people, Maria Ross and Sergeant Major Danny Brosh got off that train. Both of them were in civil clothes and coats.

Maria and Danny were once under the command of late Maes Hughes, who was the best friend of Roy Mustang. Maria was court-martialed after she was accused of killing Maes Hughes, but later she was found innocent. She left the military after that and never joined back on records.

They were supposed to meet Lieutenant General Olivier Mira Armstrong at Briggs for the spy mission at Drachma, which was discussed between Roy Mustang and Olivier Armstrong, after the information about a potential attack from Drachma. When they arrived at the station, they were expecting someone to pick them up, but no one showed up. They thought maybe someone was waiting outside and went outside the station, but still, no one was there to receive them. They finally decided to get to Briggs by themselves. They took a lift from a merchant who was going on his vehicle that way. The merchant dropped them at a location where the military boundary was starting and told them to be careful as there was heavy snow on the way and there was fear of bears. After the merchant left, those two were looking at the way which was uphill and full of snow and over that, to make thing worse, the chilling wind was blowing.

"General Armstrong was informed about our arrival, right?" Danny asked in confusion after he saw the arduous path in front of him.

"I hope so," She replied in a discouraged voice and a lethargic face.

They entered the boundary and walked toward Briggs through all that snow and chilling wind. After walking for two hours, they were clueless about where they were going due to the snowy wind which reduced the visibility. Then, they saw a faint image of a man in the snowy wind, approaching them. The view became clearer when the man came closer. It was a Fort Briggs soldier wearing a white coat. The soldier shouted in that bad weather to confirm their identity,

"Are you from Central Command?"

Both of them were overjoyed when they realized that someone finally came for them.

"YES," Both of them sounded very happy.

"Come with me." The soldier said.

They followed the soldier who led them to Fort Briggs. As soon as they entered Briggs, they were taken to the doctor. After the doctor diagnosed them, they were served hot soup. While they were at the beginning of enjoying their soup, someone opened the door. It was General Armstrong and Major Miles who entered the room. Watching General Armstrong, both of them put their soups on the nearby table and stood up to salute her.

"At ease," Olivier responded with authority.

As soon as Maria and Danny stood in a relaxed pose after receiving the order, they were enquired,

"Why didn't you come by the vehicle I sent for you to the station?" Olivier asked.

The question confused both of them as they didn't encounter any soldier from Briggs at the station. They looked toward each other, and then back at Olivier.

"But, we didn't see anyone at the station," Maria replied in a confused voice.

"Major," Olivier called Miles without even turning her head to look at Miles, who was standing beside her.

"Yes General," Miles responded

"Who was responsible to pick them up from the station?" Olivier asked.

"Sergeant Yoki, General," Miles answered.

Yoki was initially a military officer posted at Youswell, where he bankrupted the citizen by imposing heavy taxes on them. Later when he was exposed by the Elric brothers, he was stripped of his ranks. He traveled with Scar and Mei for a while. And after the promise day, he was reinstated in the military, but due to his past records, he was demoted to the rank of sergeant and was posted at Fort Briggs.

"That fool can't do a work properly." Olivier sounded disgusted and angry.

She was mad at Yoki as if she was going to kill him the time he returns to Briggs. Miles understood what she wanted, so before she spoke, he said,

"I will send soldiers to search for Yoki and let you know as soon as he is here"

Olivier was still angry, she turned around and started walking toward her office. While leaving she ordered Miles,

"Bring these clowns to my office."

They were not even halfway through the soup they were provided, and no one had the courage to disobey General Armstrong's order. So they prepared to leave for the General's office with Miles, but before they could leave, the doctor said,

"You need to pay me 800 cenz for the two soups you took"

Both of them looked at the Doctor surprisingly, as they couldn't believe the soup they were provided was far from any act of hospitality. Still, they were not angry for the money they were charged, but for the fact that they couldn't taste the soup properly.

"BUT WE BARELY DRANK THE SOUP, "Both of them replied fiercely.

"And how come soup is so expensive?" Danny asked with an angry face.

"Whatever you doing, do it fast. Believe me, you don't want to make General Armstrong mad." Miles interrupted them by reminding them about General Armstrong's terror.

Both of them got scared after hearing Miles' words. They quickly took out 400 cenz each from their purse and slammed it on the table out of anger. Then they followed Miles to General Armstrong's office. The office door was open so, they entered inside and found General Armstrong sitting on her chair. After they entered the room, they stood at a distance from the General's desk. Miles closed the door and walked toward General Armstrong and stood beside her. Olivier's elbows were on the desk, her fingers were steepled near her mouth and she was gazing through her piercing eyes.

"So, Mustang thinks you two are good enough for the job? I saw your record, Miss Maria Ross, you were the one framed for killing Maes Hughes. Well, I didn't understand why he chose you for this mission?" Olivier asked.

"You can trust us General," Maria replied with confidence.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Olivier sounded disappointed.

Maria and Danny gulped when they heard Olivier. Meanwhile, Olivier stood up from her chair and walked toward the window to look at the light blizzard occurring outside.

"One of my soldiers is already in Othon. I am expecting you to be successful and get the information as soon as possible…and, don't put shame on the Amestrian military by dying out there. You will be leaving for your mission tomorrow at 8:00 AM. Two of our soldiers will lead you to Drachma through smuggling paths." Olivier said while gazing through the window.

She then turned around and looked toward Maria and Danny, and asked calmly, "Any questions?"

"No Ma'am," Both of them replied instantly.

"You can leave now. Major Miles will show you your room where you will be staying today," Olivier said.

Danny and Maria saluted General Armstrong and followed Miles who led them to their rooms. After getting into their room, they took a sigh of relief.


	9. Farewell (Part 4- Zhansi)

" _What comes easy won't last. What lasts won't come easy."_

 **[Xing]**

After the events of promise day, Ling returned to his homeland with the philosopher's stone and offered it to the Emperor. Because of that unrealistic achievement, the emperor of Xing declared him as his successor. The decision made by the emperor made a lot of people unhappy, but no one had the courage to question their ruler. Moreover, Ling asked the emperor to grant a proper status and life to Mei's clan and the clan's like her, which the emperor agreed on.

Few months after the promise day, the Fuehrer of Amestris invited the Xingese emperor to visit Amestris, and in the meantime, he proposed to discuss few policies between the two countries. The Xingese emperor accepted the invitation, but he decided to send someone else on his behalf to the foreign country. And it was without a doubt, Ling, as he had a good relationship with some powerful figures of Amestris, and he was the successor of the emperor.

For the upcoming meeting, the emperor of Xing summoned Ling to the palace. Ling adhered to the emperor's order and came to the palace along with Lan Fan and Mei. He was at the royal guest house of the palace and was practicing sword fighting in the garden with someone on an afternoon. Ling was struggling with the person who was wearing a mask and had an automail arm with a small sword extension.

"You really have become crazy fast," Ling praised while fighting with his Dao.

They kept on fighting, and no one was ready to give up.

"No doubt, you have improved a lot," Ling praised again while panting.

Meanwhile, someone ran inside with a small panda. It was Mei Chang, and she was panting. Even after her presence, the fight didn't stop, so Mei yelled to stop the fight,

"What are you doing LING? It's almost time to meet the emperor."

Ling's concentration was broken instantly when Mei reminded him of the meeting, and he fell prey to the other person's sword. The person quickly disarmed Ling by throwing off his sword at a distance. The tip of the sword pierced into the grassy floor, and the sword stuck vertically, waiting to be picked up again.

The person then removed their mask and bowed their head before speaking,

"Sorry young lord, I should have stopped as well."

The person was none other than the most trusted bodyguard of Ling, Lan Fan.

"What are you saying? I am glad that my bodyguard doesn't get distracted easily." Ling replied with a smile.

Ling then picked up his sword from the ground and put it inside his newly bought leather scabbard, while Lan Fan retracted back her automail sword. Ling then looked toward Mei and said,

"Now let's go, Mei. We shouldn't make the emperor wait."

Mei and Ling went to meet the emperor, leaving Xiao-Mei (the small panda) with Lan Fan. When they reached the Emperor's court, there were only a few people present there. Some of them were the bodyguards and some of them were the Emperor's ministers and advisors. The Emperor was sitting on his throne which was at a height. He was wearing the traditional royal Xingese attire. Even after wearing some expensive clothes and jewelry, the emperor was unable to hide his wrinkly face. He was suffering from a disease, but after he received the philosopher stone, the alkahestry practitioners were able to suppress the disease, if not cure it.

After watching the emperor, Mei and Ling bowed to pay their respect. One of the ministers who was standing beside the Emperor walked a bit forward, and said,

"Stand up Ling Yao, Mei Chang"

Ling and Mei stood up properly and looked toward the Minister. They could feel all the eyes were on them at that moment, which was making them nervous. Meanwhile, the minister continued,

"Our great Emperor is very happy with the result of your quest, and as promised, you will succeed him and continue his legacy. Moreover, he is also impressed by your diplomatic skills, through which you befriended some of the powerful people in Amestris. So, in the presence of all the nobles present in the court, his excellency gives you the honor of representing the royal family in the first ever official meeting with Amestris," The minister said

"I am glad that you see me worthy of such stature," Ling replied by bowing his head.

"But, the Emperor wants to know why do you want to take this little girl of Cheng clan and the inexperienced female bodyguard with you?" The minister asked.

"Because I trust these two with my life, your highness," Ling replied politely after lifting up his head.

The emperor started laughing loudly, and all the ministers and nobles laughed along with him. After laughing for some moment, the Emperor spoke and all the courtroom returned to silence,

"You are such a naïve," he said with a big smile, and Ling reciprocated with his smile. The emperor then continued,

"Fine, if you are taking the people you think are trustworthy, then I am also sending two of my most trustworthy and strongest warriors with you. It won't look good if something happens to the future ruler of Xing in a foreign country."

After speaking to Ling, he looked toward the minister and said in a low voice,

"Call them."

The minister said two names upon hearing the Emperor's order,

"Yin, Yang, come forward."

After the minister called, a man and a woman walked from the two corners of the room. Both of them appeared to be in their late 20s, and were wearing some outfit similar to that of Lan Fan's, but seemingly better. The man had a small ponytail mad out of his black hair and a scar on his left eye. While the woman was wearing a black mask and had a braid reaching down to her waist. The man had a sword in the scabbard, hanging on his waist, while the woman was carrying some stick like thing with some fabric surrounding it, on her back. The man was a little taller than Ling, while the woman was almost the same height as of Ling.

Ling was watching them walking toward him as if he was starstruck. And soon the man stood beside Mei, while the woman stood beside Ling. Still, Ling appeared to be amazed.

"Ling Yao, these are the Yin-Yang twins. They are among the -" The minister introduced the people standing beside Ling and Mei, but he was interrupted in between.

"Twelve Zhansi," Ling completed the minister's sentence, while still being in his awe condition.

Zhansi were the top 12 warriors of Xing, most or all of whom knew alkahestry. They were only obligated to follow the emperor's order and no one else.

Because the woman was wearing her mask inside the courtroom, the minister scolded her,

"Yin, why are you wearing your mask inside the Emperor's court? It is disrespectful."

"Sorry my lord," Yin apologized.

When she removed her mask, Ling's and few other people's mouths were wide open. Unlike her twin brother, who looked fully Xingese, she looked half foreign and half Xingese. Her beauty was a sight to behold. It won't be an exaggeration to say that she could turn any men to stone just like Medusa.

Yin sighed when she looked at the men whose mouth was wide open. She said with a disappointed voice,

"See, that's why I was not removing my mask."

Ling looked away embarrassingly after he heard Yin's reply, and all the ministers and the Emperor started laughing loudly.

"It's not the fault of the young lord. You are so beautiful after all," The minister replied while laughing.

"Yin," The Emperor interrupted, and all the courtroom went silent.

"Yes, your highness," Yin replied by bowing to the emperor.

"Yang," The Emperor called.

"Yes, your highness," Yang replied by bowing to the emperor.

"You two will be accompanying Ling Yao to Amestris and protect him with your life," The Emperor ordered.

"We will protect him with our lives, your highness," The twins answered while bowing their head.

"You can leave now," The King said

All of them paid their final respect to the emperor before leaving the courtroom. When they came out of the court, Lan Fan was standing there waiting for Ling. Mei looked for Xiao-Mei near Lan Fan, but she couldn't find her, so he asked Lan Fan,

"Where is Xiao-Mei?"

"She was just here, I don't know where did she go?" Lan Fan replied while looking surprisingly around herself.

Mei started calling out for Xiao-Mei by shouting out her name, "Xiao-Mei, Xiao-Mei". Lan Fan also helped her to look for Xiao Mei by leaving Ling there along with the Yin Yang Twins. Both the girls went for searching Xiao-Mei in the open field outside the courtroom.

Looking Lan Fan go, Yin asked Ling out of curiosity,

"Is she your bodyguard?"

Ling replied with a "Yes".

"What happened to her arm?" Yin asked again while looking toward Lan Fan at a distance.

"She lost it while protecting me against the Fuehrer," Ling replied while looking toward Lan Fan.

"You fought against Fuehrer Bradley!" Yin looked surprisingly at Ling.

"We barely managed to survive though," Ling replied with an embarrassed laugh. He continued, "That man was a pure monster"

"Then I am sure you haven't met the real monsters," Yang interrupted.

Ling looked toward Yang, and said,

"I doubt, even you can beat Bradley."

"But, I am pretty sure I could have brought him to his limits. If he would've been in his youth, then I can't say. Based on what I have heard about him, he could have easily stood among the top 3 Zhansi in his youth."

"You mean in his youth, he was more dangerous? Well, then he could have beaten even the number 1 Zhansi," Ling said.

The words from Ling's mouth, hurt Yang's ego. He replied with a little-raised voice and a pissed off face,

"Do you really think we are so weak?"

"I am not saying you are weak. I am just saying he was very strong," Ling tried to cool down Yang, but that was not enough.

Fortunately, Yin decided to interrupt. She put her hands on her brother's shoulder and said,

"Why don't you go somewhere, where you can find some fresh cold air?"

Yang sighed exasperatedly and left the place. When he left, Yin looked toward Ling who looked tense after the unintentional heated conversation, and said,

"Sorry, he gets angry when someone says anything about the Zhansi which he doesn't want to listen. But I can assure you, he is very much reliable"

"Anyways, he was talking about more dangerous people than Bradley in Amestris. Is that true? Have you met people like that?" Ling sounded very curious. He knew few beings definitely stronger than Bradley, like Father and Pride, which he couldn't reveal as a promise to his Amestrian friends. But, he wanted to know what people Yang was talking about, who were stronger than Bradley. Were they the homunculus? Were they some state alchemists? Or were they something else, whom Ling and his team never met.

Yin got a serious look on her face when she heard Ling's question. She looked down for a moment and sighed before replying.


	10. Farewell (Part 5- Yue Gong)

" _Duty is heavy as a mountain but Death is lighter than a feather"_

 **[Year 1897]**

The name Yue Gong was enough to bring a shiver down the spines of any enemy of Xing. He was the first Zhansi among the 12 Zhansi of Xing, which meant he was the strongest warrior in all of Xing. He was a middle-aged man and had been the first Zhansi from past 8 years. His long black hairs and a bun on the top could be easily recognized in a crowded area. And the weapon he always carried with him was a sword passed down from generation. The sword had a transmutation circle at the tip of its handle whose circumference seemed like a dragon, because of which the sword was known as Longfang which meant Dragon's fang in ancient Xingese.

Yue was married to an Amestrian woman who died after giving birth to twins, after which Yue raised the children all by himself. Yue named his son, Yang, and he named his daughter Yin. Yin and Yang were not identical twins, in fact, Yang looked like a typical Xingese, whereas Yin looked half Amestrian.

Every year on his children birthday, Yue took them to his wife's birthplace, which was a border village in the East Area of Amestris. And like every year, he brought his children to Amestris this year too, but he was in some serious trouble this time. He was running with his 10-year-old kids through the barren wilderness. The Amestrian military was behind him for some reason. The Great Desert where Han, the smuggler was waiting for them was only a mile away, and the Amestrian military was also far behind. But still, his fate was sealed when he encountered a military officer on the way, waiting for them, unarmed and alone.

The officer was a middle-aged man and was wearing an Amestrian military uniform of colonel rank. His brown messed up hair was screaming that they had not been combed from quite a long time. And his clouded pupils, clearly saying that the person couldn't see.

When Yue saw the officer in front of him, he kept on running, thinking that the officer couldn't be a threat. But, then the officer said while looking straight toward Yue,

"You have to stop here. I can't let you go any further."

Yue stopped instantly, at some distance before the officer and replied,

"Please stand aside, I don't want to hurt you."

"It's not you who is going to hurt me, I am the one who is going to hurt you and take back whatever you stole," The officer threatened Yue very calmly.

"Fine, if that's the way you want it to be, then be it," Yue said.

Both the children were watching their father taking a few steps forward, but he didn't pull out his sword. He thought he could beat the unarmed blind man pretty easily, but he received a warning from the officer before the fight could begin,

"You better pull out your sword," The officer warned.

"I am not going to fight an unarmed blind man with a weapon," Yue replied.

When he finished off his sentence, he saw the officer was near him, placing his hands near Yue's face. His hands were covered with green scales and instead of normal fingers, he had claws. Yue quickly took some steps back to maintain some distance between him and the officer.

"You should never take your guard off," The officer said while transforming his hands back to normal.

Yue was clearly afraid, not for himself, but because of his children. He looked toward them and said,

"You two go, Han is waiting for you in the desert. I will join you later." He tried to assure them of his safe return, but in inside he was not sure.

Yin and Yang went toward the desert without raising a single question to their father. And after watching his children safely go, Yue pulled out his sword and took the attacking stance. And within the next few seconds, the fight began. Yue attacked the officer with his sword and the officer blocked his attack by transforming his hands back to the scaly form. Yue fought with swords, kunai knives and even used alkahestry to fight the officer, but the officer was way too fast, strong and agile. Even if Yue managed to break some scales, the officer was able to instantly generate new scales on that area. So, it was practically impossible for Yue to cut him, but he was cut by the officer in multiple areas. Yue was bleeding badly and after losing all his strength, he fell on the ground. On the other side, the officer was unscathed. He came closer to Yue without any scales on his body and stood firm.

"You fought valiantly. It has been a long time since anyone made me use my chimera form," The officer said while dusting off his uniform.

Yue laughed out loud when heard the officer's comment, because of which the officer got curious and asked,

"Why are you laughing?"

"What a shame, even after getting the title of the greatest warrior in Xing, I got defeated by a blind man," Yue replied while laughing.

"I may be blind, but I can see all, I can even see through lies and fear. I can even see the two children who are hiding behind the rock," The officer said calmly.

Yue then looked toward the rock which was at a distance behind the officer, and saw Yin and Yang were peeking from behind the rock. He chuckled watching that scene and said with a smile on his face, "Of course." He continued, "Can you please spare my children?"

Yue was a man who would never beg, but that was the moment when he let his pride go, not to save his own life, but for the life of his children which the officer could end at any moment.

"I was here only to kill you, not your children, but the military which is approaching here might have some different plan," The officer replied.

"Please-"

Before Yue could complete his sentence, the officer pierced his hand through Yue's heart. Yue's consciousness was fading away, and fortunately, his final view was his children who were out of hiding behind the rock at a distance. He smiled at his children who were startled at that moment. And when he closed his eyes, they ran toward him while screaming "Papa", and tears were sliding down their cheek. Meanwhile, the officer pulled out some document from Yue's cloth.

When the twins reached near their father, he was already dead. Both of them started crying over their father's dead body.

"You should go, otherwise the military will capture you," The officer said, who was standing right beside them.

Their father's murderer was standing right beside them, but they knew, it was his generosity to let them live. So, analyzing the situation, 10 years old Yang stopped crying by wiping out his tears and stood up firmly like a warrior. He picked up his father's sword lying on the ground and held his sister's wrist and tried to pull her away from their father's dead body.

"Let's go, if we stay here, we will be caught by the military," Yang said with hiccups which were occurring because he was trying hard to not cry. His chin was trembling, still, he was trying to be a tough brother in front of his sister.

"I don't want to leave papa here," Yin said while sobbing.

"Papa told us to go, if we get caught by the military then papa's soul won't rest in peace," Yang tried to persuade his sister.

Yin agreed with what her brother said. She stood up and went with her brother toward the great desert. But, while they were leaving, the officer called them. When the children turned around the man was facing his back toward them. Yin was sobbing and Yang was looking at him with rage.

"Remember me. I promise you, when you will come to take your revenge, I won't run. I will face you like I faced your father," The officer said.

Both of them then turn around and ran toward the Great Desert with complete hatred for that man who killed their father.

….

Yin completed telling the story of the monster her brother teased to Ling about. After listening to the story, Ling was amazed. He asked the one mystery in the whole story,

"What was in the document for which he was killed?"

"The method to create the philosopher's stone," Yin replied.

Ling was stunned when he heard the answer. He couldn't believe that the King sent his best to get the philosopher stone in the past, still, the best warrior was defeated, and the person who defeated him was blind with some weird abilities. He kept on thinking if that man was in Amestris all this time then, why didn't he come to the battle at central headquarters. So, he asked the other question which was also bugging him,

"Are their other beings like the blind man in Amestris?"

"Yang told me that there are 4 beings like him, but the military has the record of only 1," Yin replied.

"How did he find out that there are 4 of them?" Ling asked curiously.

"The officer told him when he went to fight him on his own and got his ass whopped. The officer's name is Krid Novak, and he retired from the military after 1 year into the Ishvalan war. He now stays in a town of East Area," Yin replied.

Meanwhile, someone interrupted them,

"Sorry to interrupt you"

When Yin and Ling turned to look at the man who interrupted them, the man was smiling. He was wearing the traditional Xingese attire and his head was shining like a cue ball. He had a pretty normal physique and was same high as Ling.

When he saw the confused and curious face of Yin and Ling, he introduced himself,

"My name is Hu Zemin, I work at the prime minister's office, and I will be going with you to Amestris." He said with the big grin stuck to his face.

The team was now ready to represent Xing in the first-ever official meeting with Amestris. Ling Yao and Mei Chang were representing the royal family, Lan Fan and Yin-Yang twins were the bodyguards, and Hu Zemin was the political advisor.


	11. The Unexpected (Part 1 - Flame Alchemy)

" _Exposing your vulnerability is the crucial step to gain someone's trust"_

 **[Year 1905]**

After Roy left for the military, Berthold's health started degrading more and more. Roy couldn't spend a lot of time with his master, but he tried to do whatever he could to save his master. Even after his devotion for his master, Berthold was still disappointed in him, just for the fact that he chose the life of a soldier. The exchange of words between the lonely alchemist and his only disciple had reduced to the minimum.

After 2 years, in the autumn of 1905, when Roy graduated from the military academy, he first went to his true family to celebrate his achievement. But, that day was unusual for him. Berthold wanted to meet Roy in private, so he called Roy to his bedroom where he was lying on his bed like a living corpse. He spoke through his heart that day and revealed the truth about flame alchemy to Roy at last. He got stressed for some reason after he asked Roy to protect Riza, that she had the secrets to flame alchemy. He started coughing and spitting blood from his mouth, and within a few moments, he lost his consciousness.

Roy came to celebrate with the only family he felt like his own, but there could not be any celebration that day, because he lost the man that day, who guided him on the path of his dreams. The doctors who treated Berthold found out that he was missing some internal organs because of which his health was always in vulnerable condition, and in the last 2 years, the body couldn't keep up. During his last moments, Berthold asked for the first and last favor from his daughter. He asked her to give Roy the final book he wrote, after his death. The book was titled, "The Knight". It was a fairy tale about a Knight who devoted his life to protect the princess with whom he was in love.

On Berthold's funeral day, there were no friends or family except Roy, Riza, and Matilda, and it was not surprising, considering that the man had little to no connection to the outside world. Roy never understood why his Master was so lonely, why he shut himself from the outside world.

After the funeral was over, Matilda and the other people facilitating the funeral left the graveyard. Roy and Riza were the only one present there at that time. They were standing in front of Berthold's grave, remembering all the happy and sad moments with Berthold. Finally, Riza showed her gratitude toward Roy for the fact that, even after not being related by blood, he put all his money and effort to save his master. He even arranged everything for his master's funeral like a family member.

"You have done so much. I don't think I can thank you enough," Riza said politely while looking toward her father's tombstone.

"It's the least I can do, after everything he taught me," Roy replied.

He then took out a contact card and gave it to Riza. He said, "You should take it. You can call me in the military if you need to."

He never asked Riza on how she felt about his decision of joining the military. He remembered the heated conversation between him and Berthold, 2 years ago, and always thought that maybe Riza also thought like her father. So he said very compassionately, "Let me guess…you also don't approve of me becoming a soldier. Your father told me, soldiers are left to die like trash on the side of the road. That may be but, I know it's the only way to make a difference and I know I will never be happy if I don't try to make this country a better place."

He finally released all the words suppressed in his heart for a long time in those few moments. But, he then realized he got too emotional and moved his hands through his hairs. "Man…that must have sounded pretty childish, huh?" He smirked embarrassingly and looked toward Riza.

Riza looked at him, and replied, "Not at all, there is nothing childish about caring. I like to believe that you are serious about this, that you really do care." She paused for a moment and brought up the topic which was bugging both of them. She asked, "Can I trust you Roy…with my father's research?"

Roy closed his eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled. He then opened his eyes and asked, "What do you think?"

"I think…I can," Riza replied hesitantly.

Roy thought maybe she wasn't sure because of the hesitance in her voice. So, he decided to talk about the topic at a later time. He tried to direct the conversation in a different direction, and said,

"Let's go home. We can talk it later."

Both of them turned around and started walking toward home. While walking, Roy saw Riza was preoccupied with some thoughts because of which she was looking stressed. He understood that it should be flame alchemy. So, to lighten up her mood, he teased her, "I hope you know how to make stew."

Riza instantly got out of her thoughts, and replied annoyingly while looking toward Roy, "Then why don't you ask Ms. Becker to make you some stew?"

Roy stopped walking and held Riza's shoulders. He then begged her desperately by making a pathetic face, "Don't do this to me, Miss Riza. I will definitely die without your stew, please prepare me some."

Riza burst into laughter. Her eyes were closing due to the laughter and she was trying to cover her mouth with her hand to stop laughing. "Okay, okay…stop it, I will make some stew," She said while laughing.

After some time they reached home and found that the dishes were already prepared, but Matilda was not there.

Riza looked at the dining table and said, "Looks like Ms. Becker went to her home, she told me she had some work and will be coming at late night. Anyways, I still have to prepare some stew to make sure you won't die." She finished off the sentence by mocking Roy.

They prepared the stew together like old times, and after finishing the dinner, they washed off the plates and sat on the dining chairs, which was adjacent to each other. Riza then reminded something embarrassing to Roy. She asked,

"Roy, do you remember back when I was resting under the tree beside the lake?"

"Oh come on now, you had to bring that? I swear, when you were closing your eyes and lying under that tree, I thought you were sleeping. So, I was putting that bug on your face," Roy sounded embarrassed.

"But, your prank backfired at you…didn't it?" Riza grinned.

"How can I forget? You punched me so hard on my face after all. I was dizzy for a moment," Roy acted as if he could still feel the pain.

Riza burst into a laugh, remembering the old days, and Roy quietly watched her happy face. After some time, when Riza seemed very happy, Roy thought of bringing up the question which was making him anxious from a long time. He called Riza politely.

When Riza looked at him and responded him with a "hmmm?" He asked, "When did Master complete his research?"

The happiness from Riza's face disappeared instantly. Riza was quiet for a moment and averted her eyes from Roy to look down at the dining table. Roy was anxious to get the answers, but at the same time, he didn't want Riza to feel uncomfortable, so he remained quiet. Suddenly, Riza answered him without looking at his face,

"He completed it 6 years ago. But, soon after he completed his research, he found that somehow the military got to know about it. He feared that his research might go into the wrong hand so, he burnt all his research work. A few days later, the military came to our house and asked him to give up the research as he was not willing to work for them. He told them the truth but, they didn't believe him and searched the whole house and found nothing. They took many of the notes and books my father had with them"

Roy was in complete disbelief. He couldn't believe after so much time he spent with his Master, he never learned flame alchemy and now after knowing the truth, he was feeling like a loser. He couldn't believe that Berthold burnt all his research work, still, he told him that his research work was with Riza.

"How can that be? You yourself told me that you have Master's research," Roy asked anxiously.

Riza lifted up her head and replied with a little hesitation, "Yes, I have it. Before he burned all his research work, he made a copy of it to make sure that his research does not go to waste."

Roy was relieved when he learned the whole truth. He got excited and spoke out of impulse, "Can you show me?"

When Riza saw his face, she could see the hunger for knowledge in his eyes, like her father. She couldn't see the caring Roy she knew, which made her sad. She replied with a concerned face, "My father devoted himself so much toward alchemy that he forgot he had a family. Even when my mother was ill, he never came to sit near her and talk to her for a moment. I hope you won't become like my father," She finished off with a sad smile.

Roy felt bad and averted his eyes from Riza. There was silence for a moment, but then Riza held Roy's wrist and spoke with a smile,

"It's all right. I know how excited you were to learn alchemy from my father…it's getting late and you have a train to catch tomorrow…please come with me," she said.

Roy looked with his sorry eyes toward Riza and saw her smiling face in return. He smiled back at her and stood up after her. He then followed Riza to the study room in order to know the secrets to the most powerful alchemy.


	12. The Unexpected (Part 2 - Elizabeth)

" _You don't find love. Love finds you"_

…

Riza was standing in front of the door to the study room, but she was hesitating to open it. Even though her hand was on the doorknob, still she was unable to turn it. Roy was standing behind her from a while, wearing his military uniform and a very long coat. He was concerned for Riza.

"It's all right if you don't want to show the research work now," He said in an assuring manner.

Riza forgot for a moment that Roy was standing behind her, and when she suddenly heard his voice, she was startled. She quickly opened the door and got inside. Roy followed her inside, leaving the door open. Riza didn't want to face Roy at that moment for some reason, so she stood at some distance, facing her back to him.

"Can you please close the door?" She requested with hesitation in her voice.

Roy moved toward the door and closed it without making any unnecessary noise. He then turned around to see Riza was still facing her back to him. She was clinging her hands together and looking down at the floor. The evening sunlight was coming through the small window where Riza was facing as if it was putting her in the spotlight. The only thing Roy couldn't see was the expression on her face, but it was quite clear from everything else that she was very uncomfortable.

Roy stood at his position quietly, waiting for Riza to show him the secrets to flame alchemy. It was quite a while since Roy was watching Riza standing at a distance like a statue. And when he was about to speak, Riza removed the small coat she was wearing over her clothes and dropped it on the floor. Roy was confused on what she was doing.

After that, she started removing the top and Roy could only imagine where it was going. He quickly turned around and started breathing heavily. His face was red and started sweating in that awkward circumstance. He was clearly not expecting Riza to strip off of her clothes right in front of him. Then he started blabbering whatever was coming into his mind.

"Hey, Ri… Riza, I know you like me but, d…don't you think we are rushing things? Ri…Riza I like you too b…b…but, you are making things aw…awkward. P…please stop," He stuttered a lot.

Roy was only 15 when he came to the Hawkeye residence, and lived with them for 3 years. After which he spent 2 years in a military academy where there were no girls. So, even after surrounded by courtesans till his early teens, he never got into such a situation. Later also he never had the chance to make friendship with any girl other than Riza because he was too much focused about his career and learning alchemy. Now he was in a situation where the girl he knew too well was alone with him in a closed room and was getting naked right in front of him. So, it was not surprising that Roy's heart was beating like a steam engine.

After some time, he heard Riza's shy voice.

"You can turn around," She said hesitantly.

Roy thought, maybe she listened to him and put back her clothes on. So, he slowly turned around while looking toward the floor. After turning toward Riza, he slowly started lifting up his head. His vision slowly moved toward the place where he could see the coat which Riza removed. He gulped and lifted his head a little more and saw Riza's top and her bra. He also saw Riza's legs beyond those clothes. He gulped again and lifted his head a little more. He then saw the lower part of Riza's bare back, and as soon as he saw that, he quickly descended his head to again look at the floor.

He started breathing heavily, but he remembered the tattoo he saw on Riza's back for that brief moment. He was confused on what he saw and lifted up his head out of curiosity. All his shyness disappeared when he saw Riza's back, which was covered with a tattoo. And now he could also see Riza was covering her front with her bare hands while looking down at the floor out of embarrassment.

"What is this?" Roy asked with a stressed voice.

"The secrets to flame alchemy," Riza replied hesitantly.

Roy gritted his teeth and clenched his fists out of anger. He could see that she was feeling embarrassed and ashamed. He couldn't see her like that, so he walked closer to her. He then removed the coat he was wearing and covered her with that. After that, he spoke with anger for his Master whom he respected a lot,

"I couldn't have imagined that out of all people, Master was capable of doing something so inhuman…That bastard…How could someone do something like this to his own daughter? Was everything for him merely a subject for his research? And all this time he was lecturing me on helping others…What a hypocrite." He sounded disgusted with his master's deed.

Riza turned around and looked into Roy's eyes, which were filled with rage. When Roy saw Riza looking at him, he calmed down and smiled to give her some assurance.

"Don't worry. I will never become Berthold Hawkeye," He said.

Those simple words gave her courage, she felt safe and hugged him. Suddenly, Roy spoke

"R...R…Riza c…can you p…p…please stop hugging me?" He stuttered a lot.

Riza stopped hugging, and looked at him. His face was red as a tomato.

"What happened? Why are you blushing?" Riza asked.

Roy lowered his head and replied while stuttering,

"I th…think you sh…should wear something."

Riza forgot for a moment that she was only wearing Roy's buttonless coat which was still revealing a lot, because of which Riza started blushing. But then, she got closer to Roy and smooched him on his lips. Roy was stunned by Riza's action and looked at her with a surprised face. But, when he thought things couldn't get crazier than the sudden brief kiss, he heard something which he never heard from any other person throughout his entire life.

"I love you Roy Mustang," Riza said while blushing.

A big grin appeared on Roy's face when he heard those 3 words. He took a deep breath and said,

"Master must be mad at us right now."

"I don't care," Riza replied.

The surrounding was silent, not even an insect was making a noise. The window was open, but there was no wind to disturb them. There was only the dim ray of the setting sun falling on them through the window as if the sun was marrying the souls meant for each other. Roy looked into Riza's eyes which were still like an undisturbed lake. He cupped her face with one hand and said which he never said to anyone in his entire life,

"I love you Riza Elizabeth Hawkeye and I will keep on loving you until my last breath."

Love is a very strong bond existing between two people which gets stronger under certain circumstances, and it was a situation like that. That was the time when they confessed their feeling for each other, although it was more like a vow than a confession. He kissed her and she kissed him back. They were too much into each other at that moment, she always saw him as her best friend, but that moment clearly led their relationship to a more beautiful path. After some time, Riza pulled away from him. Both of them were smiling and blushing, as it was their first kiss.

"I think you should see the research work," Riza said with a shy voice and blushing face, reminding Roy of the real reason they were in that room.

Roy was also looking very happy, as was Riza.

"Fine. Let me bring a pen so that I can make notes," Roy said with a grin stuck to his face which was not disappearing.

Riza then turned around and removed the coat, but this time she was very much comfortable. Roy brought a pen and a notebook, but while making notes, he started moving his index finger on Riza's back.

"What are you doing Roy?" Riza asked.

"It's the way I study," Roy replied.

Riza quickly turned around and looked at him by lifting one of her eyebrows.

"Reeaaaly? Because I never saw you read any book like that," Riza questioned.

Roy was busted and started laughing hesitantly. He then noticed Riza's bare breasts and his face turned red like a tomato. Riza also noticed that and quickly turned around with a mild annoyance.

"You know it is cold here, right? AND I AM WEARING NOTHING," Riza said with a little annoyance.

"Sorry Ma'am, it won't happen again," Roy said like a soldier. And Riza smiled when she heard his military apology.

After finishing the notes, Roy startled Riza by kissing her bare back. And then he apologized immediately before she could say anything,

"Sorry Ma'am, but my lips moved by themselves."

Riza didn't say anything. She quietly wore her top and turned around to cup his face and deliver a smooch on his lips. Soon after that, she said with a smile,

"I guess, my lips also moved by themselves."

Both laughed a lot that night and got to sleep on a single bed under the same blanket with Roy holding her all night.

Next morning Roy was standing outside the main door with his luggage, to go to the station. Riza and Matilda were also present there to see him off. Roy and Riza were looking at each other like a pair of lovebirds at that moment. They almost forgot that Matilda was also present there.

"Don't worry. I will be coming back as soon as I can," Roy assured Riza when he looked at her worried face. And soon after that, he kissed her on her lips.

Matilda was standing there, looking at them surprisingly.

"What happened between you two last night?" Matilda asked anxiously.

That time, Roy and Riza realized that they did something very unusual in front of Matilda. And after realization, they replied instantly in sync,

"Nothing"

They started acting awkwardly soon after that. On the other side, Matilda was clearly not convinced. She looked at Roy like she would eat him alive, and asked,

"Then why did you kiss her on the lips?"

Roy started laughing hesitantly and moving his hand through his hairs when he saw Matilda's angry face. Meanwhile, Riza was looking at the floor avoiding any direct contact with Matilda. As no one was giving an answer and it was time for Roy to leave for the station, Matilda decided to ask Riza for an explanation later.

"Now go, otherwise you will miss your train," Matilda said annoyingly.

Roy picked up his small luggage bag, and soon after that Riza said with a concerned face.

"Take care"

Roy could see that she was worried about him, because of which happiness was absent from her face. So, Roy smiled and said,

"I will have to. I have a beautiful country and two beautiful women to live for after all."

Those words brought a smile on Riza's face, which he embedded into his memories before leaving for his duty.


	13. The Unexpected (Part 3 - Silver Stud)

" _We should enjoy every moment with the people we love. Because once they are gone, memories of those moments will be the only thing left with us."_

…

After coming from Riza's hometown, Roy worked day and night to understand flame alchemy. He was quite a good learner and being the student of Berthold Hawkeye, he had its perks. It took him only a week to understand that one of the most important parts of flame alchemy was ignition cloth. He started performing some beginner level flame alchemy within the next 2 weeks. It was a great achievement for him, and that also at the right time because the state alchemist selection process was starting from the next week. And on the state alchemist exam, he performed exceptionally well. No one had ever seen flame alchemy in action, which proved to be Roy's trump card. He stood first in the exam by a great margin and became the youngest state alchemist at the age of 20.

Roy was given the title of "Flame Alchemist" by the Fuehrer, and he was assigned under the command of Colonel Ludwig in Central City. Soon after his posting, Roy got involved in a slightly long military operation, and after its completion, he was praised throughout the Central command for his excellent performance.

Because of his recent fame, one day General Grumman of East City contacted him for a solo mission. Grumman was Riza's maternal grandfather, and he knew Roy as well as his relationship with Riza. He gave Roy a mission at his granddaughter's hometown after talking to Roy on the telephone that day, not because he wanted to give Roy some time to meet Riza, but because Roy was well aware of that area and he was a state alchemist over that. Roy was also very happy that he could finally go and meet Riza.

Roy never told anyone about his relationship with Riza, except his foster mother, Chris Mustang (aka Madame Christmas), who also happened to be his aunt. She was an information broker and was an ally of General Grumman. Before leaving for Riza's hometown, he went to Colonel Ludwig to get the information for the mission and later visited Madame Christmas at her bar before catching the train, which was at late night.

When Roy entered inside the bar with his luggage, he saw there was not a single customer that night. There was only Madam Christmas at the counter and she was cleaning some glass with a piece of white cloth. Chris was wearing a furry coat and she was facing her back to the main door, but she definitely heard Roy enter through the door. She had also seen Roy's reflection on the cupboard glass in front of her. So, when Roy walked close to the counter, Chris spoke before Roy could say anything.

"How are you doing, Roy boy?" She said while cleaning the glasses.

"I am doing fine. Thanks for asking. So why did you call me?" He replied while sitting on a chair in front of the counter.

Chris put the cleaned glass on the cupboard and turned around. She then said, "I have a thing that I need you to give to your friend."

"But, you never met her. What can you possibly give her?" He chuckled.

She took out a small jewelry box from her coat pocket and gave it to Roy. When Roy opened the box he saw a silver ear stud. He looked at the silver stud critically.

"She would definitely look outstanding with a single silver stud," He said sarcastically.

Chris ignored his sarcasm and said, "Just give it to her."

"Fine," He then put the box in his luggage bag.

"Have you told Hughes about her?" Chris asked.

"No, I have a bigger plan. I want him to meet her face to face, I want to see Hughes in that situation," He replied with a big grin on his face and starry eyes.

He burst into laugh just imagining the situation, after all, he had the perfect chance to tease his best friend who was finding a girl for himself but was not successful yet.

He took his leave from Chris after few minutes and went for the railway station with his luggage. Next morning he arrived at Riza's hometown and walked to her home as no ride was available. After reaching there, he put his luggage on the floor and knocked on the door, and as expected, Riza opened it. He was very happy when he saw her after 2 long months, and she was also looking very happy. Both were smiling while looking at each other. After a moment, Riza was reaching out to hug him, but before she could do it, Roy carried her on his arms with a surprise and took her inside the house. He took her to the sofa and gently put her on it, then he leaned close to her face and kissed her, and she kissed him back. It was a long kiss before they separated. When they separated, Roy stood up and found Ms. Becker was standing a few feet away from him. She was staring at him.

"Hello Roy," Matilda said slowly and with a scary face.

When Riza heard Matilda's voice, she quickly stood up from the sofa. Both were standing beside each other and were blushing, they looked like some school kids who were about to get punished by the principal. Roy then looked at Matilda with a forced smile and said hesitantly,

"Hello, Ms. Becker. Sorry I didn't know you were here."

"I am happy that you came back. Riza was missing you a lot," Matilda said.

Matilda then smiled and continued, "Though I was hoping to see you with some broken bones or swelled face."

Roy and Riza were relieved when they saw Matilda smiling. Roy now smiled back at Matilda and replied, "Sorry to disappoint you."

"I was thinking of taking Riza with me for some grocery shopping, but now that you are here, I don't think she will go with me," Matilda said.

Matilda already knew that Roy was coming that morning. Moreover, she never asked Riza to go for groceries. She did that just to tease Riza, and it worked. Riza quickly looked toward Matilda and said, "I can-"

But before Riza could complete her sentence, Matilda had left. Now Roy and Riza were alone in the house. Riza looked at Roy and asked,

"So, how many days are you going to stay?"

Roy sighed and sat on the sofa. Then he replied, "They have given me a week to present the report."

Riza sat beside Roy and asked another question, "Did my grandfather assigned you on this mission?"

Roy knew that her grandfather rarely ever came to visit Riza. The last time he visited her was when her mother died. For Grumman, his work was always above his own family. So, he hesitated a little while talking about Riza's grandfather. He replied to her with a "Yes" and quickly redirected the conversation to something else. He said persuasively,

"I am hungry. Can I have some breakfast first?"

Riza understood that he did not want to talk about it anymore. So she acted along.

"Would you like some egg and bacon?" She asked.

"I would love it," Roy replied excitedly.

In Roy's wait, Riza also didn't have her breakfast. So, she prepared egg and bacon for both of them, and they had their breakfast together after a long time. After finishing the breakfast, they relaxed on the sofa. Riza rested her head on Roy's shoulder while Roy wrapped his hand around Riza. They were just enjoying each other's embrace for some time without talking. But then, Roy suddenly remembered something.

He pulled his hand back out of the embrace, due to which Riza sat properly and started looking at Roy surprisingly. Meanwhile, Roy walked toward his luggage bag and started searching for something in it. Riza was confused, so she asked curiously,

"What happened?"

"I forgot to give you something. I think it's in my bag," He replied while struggling to find the jewelry box in the bag. When he found the box, he pulled it out and walked toward Riza. He stood in front of Riza, who was sitting on the sofa. He offered the box and said,

"Here it is. A gift for you,"

When Riza took the box and opened it, she was stunned watching the silver stud. Looking at Riza's reaction, Roy asked politely,

"Riza. Are you alright?"

Riza quickly stood up and hugged Roy tightly. Tears of happiness started sliding down her cheek.

"Oh Roy…thank you…thank you so much," She sobbed out of happiness.

After some time, she controlled her tears. She then separated from Roy and asked,

"Where did you find this?"

"My aunt gave me this. I had no idea how much it meant to you," Roy replied.

"This is the only thing I have from my mother. She gave it to me when I was 6. I remember I cried a lot when I lost one of the studs some days after she gave them to me," She chuckled with tears in her eyes, remembering the time with her mother. She continued, "I don't know how I can ever thank you?"

Roy smirked and replied, "A kiss would be enough."

Riza smiled and leaned toward him to kiss which again led to a long kiss. Their young love was filling a lot of colors in each other lives. There was no one to disturb them at that moment, but then they heard the main door open. On hearing the door opening, Riza quickly pushed back from Roy and both of them stood beside each other acting as if they were doing nothing. When Matilda entered inside with the groceries and looked at them, she understood they were kissing again, but she went inside the kitchen without saying anything.


	14. The Unexpected (Part 4 - Colonel Death)

" _Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."_

…..

The reason why Roy was sent to Riza's hometown by Grumman, was to study the daily activities of an ex-military colonel. The person's name was Krid Novak, who was also known by the name of Colonel Death in the military. The reason why people gave him that nickname was because he had killed a lot of people with his bare hands and he never ever had a scratch on his body.

Roy knew the place where Krid was living after retiring from the military. It was house beside the local graveyard, and there was no neighborhood in a 100-meter radius. After having a good time with Riza that morning, Roy went to observe Krid Novak's home. He was strictly instructed to observe Krid's home from a distance.

When Roy reached near the graveyard, he could see the small house which had a small verandah and few windows. There were few flower plants in front of the house, and there was no electricity or telephone line going into that house. Roy couldn't figure out whether anyone was in that house or not, so he waited at a position from where he could keep an eye on the activity going on around the house.

Around 5 PM in the evening, Roy saw the main door of the house opening, and a middle-aged man came out of the house. He was wearing a very simple shirt and a full pant, and he had an untidy beard. Roy was clear that it was Krid Novak because he saw Krid's image on the file he got from Colonel Ludwig.

Krid was walking toward the lake, and Roy followed him without being noticed. Roy was surprised that even after being blind, Krid was walking like a normal person, without the help of any stick. After the sunset, when Krid was heading back home, Roy followed him again. Roy waited for one extra hour after Krid went inside the house, but still, he couldn't see anything interesting happening. So, he left for home, but he had already hired a local man who could observe Krid's house in Roy's absence.

When he reached Riza's house, he knocked on the door and shouted, "Honey, I am hooome."

Someone opened the door but, it was not Riza.

"What were you doing this late night? Riza has not eaten her dinner because of you," Matilda said with a raised voice and a scary face.

"I'm sorry. I was busy with something important," Roy apologized.

Matilda sighed and moved out of the way to let him get inside. Roy saw Riza was sitting at the dining table, smiling at him. After having a bath, he joined Riza and Matilda at the dining. They had dinner together, and then Roy and Riza rested on the sofa with each other's embrace. They spent some time on that sofa talking to each other while Matilda went to sleep. When it was getting really late, Roy said,

"I think it's time to sleep. I am going to my old room."

He stood up from the sofa to get to his room. But, before he could leave, Riza said,

"Ms. Becker is living in your old room. You can sleep in my father's room if you want."

"Works for me," Roy replied.

Riza then stood up from the sofa, and both left for their respective bedrooms. Because Riza's room was near her father's room, they were going along holding each other's hand. When they reached Riza's room, both of them stopped. Riza opened her door and looked at Roy.

"It's goodnight then," She said hesitantly.

Roy kissed her on her lips and said "Goodnight" with a smile. Riza's heart started beating fast and she felt an urge to kiss him back, so she reached out to Roy's lips and kissed him. Roy gave up to that moment and kissed her back. Both of them went inside the room while kissing and Roy closed the door by pushing it with his foot. Roy slowly moved his lips to her neck and began undressing her. Slowly he removed all her clothes as she removed all his clothes. Then he carried her on his arms and took her to the bed. That night, both of them expressed their feelings to the fullest.

Next morning, both were awake and were on the bed. Riza was resting her head beside Roy's chest where she could clearly hear Roy's heartbeat and Roy was staring at the ceiling while embracing her.

"Do you think your father would have approved any of this?" Roy asked.

"I don't know. Maybe he would have approved, just because he only wanted you to have his research work. He certainly loved his work more than me. He was even very skeptic to let me have some outside friend because I had his research secrets," She replied.

"He was right about some things though…Riza…can you promise me one thing?" He asked with a concerned voice.

She moved out of his embrace and sat on the bed while she was in her underwear. She looked at him and asked,

"What promise?"

Roy looked into her eyes and replied worriedly, "If something happens to me, I want you to keep on living. I am very lucky that you love me…whenever I think of my past, I feel happy that I chose to learn alchemy from your father and I got far more than what I could have ever asked for. You came into my life and I found love."

"Nothing will happen to you Mr. Mustang, you have a long way to go and I promise you, I will always be by your side no matter what," Riza said in an assuring manner.

"Then you should also join the military," Roy joked.

Roy's mission was going smoothly, but there was no interesting finding. Roy used to follow Krid very carefully. When Krid went to the lake every evening, Roy used to spend time with Riza in the same area at that time. Being with Riza, was a good cover for Roy and he could get near Krid in this way, without any suspicion. Moreover, during the night he had a hired local man to observe the activities around Krid's house. But, after 3 days, the man Roy hired disappeared. When Roy tried to find him, he couldn't find even a single clue which leads to his disappearance. Because he had very less time, he hired another man and instructed him strictly, not to go near the house, which Roy never instructed to the first man, he hired.

Days passed on, and Roy's assignment was coming to an end. He collected as much as data as he could. One week ended very quickly, and the last night was there. Roy was going to leave for East city the next morning, to give a report to General Grumman.

Like all nights they had been together, Riza was resting her head beside Roy's chest and Roy was embracing her while staring at the ceiling. Both of them were feeling very uncomfortable. They were only thinking about the fact that they had to separate again.

"It might be a bit long the next time I return but, the next time I return… I am going to marry you and take you with me," Roy said bluntly.

Riza quickly moved out of his embrace and sat up on the bed. She looked at him with widened eyes and a surprised face. When Roy looked at her face, he smiled and asked,

"What? Don't you want to marry me?"

"What about making this country a better place before your own happiness Mr. Roy Mustang?" Riza teased.

"Can't a married man do that?" Roy asked.

"Yes…he can," Riza replied with a smile and continued, "I have one problem though"

Roy also sat up on the bed properly. He held both her hands and looked at her curiously.

"What?" He questioned.

"You just can't say that you will marry me, you know? You need my permission for that," She replied with an intentional ego in her voice.

Roy understood what Riza was implying, so he grinned and moved out of the bed in his underwear. He sat on the floor on his knees, and he asked Riza to sit on the edge of the bed with her legs hanging out of the bed. He then held her hands and looked into her amber eyes, which made her blush, and said from his heart,

"Riza Elizabeth Hawkeye…do you remember, the time when you asked me, who will be this idiot's queen?"

"Yes," She replied with a smile.

"Well, I have an answer now. Would you mind becoming this idiot's queen?" Roy asked.

"Yes. After all only a smart queen can stop an idiot king from doing idiot things" She accepted the proposal by mocking Roy.

After listening to Riza's answer, Roy couldn't hold his laugh, and Riza laughed along with him. Roy then stopped for a moment, just to see Riza's laugh which he could cherish. When Riza looked at him, looking her with a worried face, she stopped laughing and asked,

"What happened?"

"I promise I will return as fast as I can. Can you wait for me till then?" Roy asked anxiously.

Riza looked at him and held his hands more tightly. She then replied, "I will wait you for eternity if you ask me to." She smiled to end Roy's anxiety.

The next morning Roy left for East City and she watched him go so that he can return and take her with him.


	15. The Unexpected (Part 5 - Lilies)

" _Life takes you to unexpected places. Love brings you home"_

 **[Present day]**

It was 8 PM, and unlike every night, Riza had prepared some special and extra dishes for dinner. Her small dining table, which had space for only 4 people was well decorated. She had even put a thin glass vase with some white lilies, on the table. The dishes she had prepared were on the table, covered with lids to keep them hot. She had already put some dog food in Hayate's bowl, which Hayate was enjoying, and she was sitting on her newly bought sofa, waiting for someone to come.

After some time, Riza heard someone knocking at the door. She opened it and saw two gentlemen were standing in their suits without a tie. Oliver was holding a bouquet of some yellow lilies and Roy was holding a bouquet of some pink lilies. Both were standing outside the entrance, waiting to be welcomed inside.

"Hello Major, hope we are in time," Roy offered the bouquet of pink lilies he was holding.

Riza took the flowers from Roy's hand, and soon after that Oliver greeted her, "Hello Ma'am."

When Riza looked at Oliver who was smiling and offering his bouquet of yellow lilies to her. Riza smiled back at him and bent to take the bouquet. Meanwhile, Hayate came from inside upon hearing Roy's voice and started running around Roy's feet, barking and wagging his tail.

"Oh, hey Hayate!" Roy patted Hayate on his head.

In the meantime, Riza stood up while holding the two bouquets and asked, "Why are you two wearing suits?"

"It's the first time Oliver has come to your house, so he asked me to wear one," Roy replied.

Riza chuckled and looked toward Oliver, but he was busy, playing with Hayate. So, she stroked his head gently to get his attention. When Oliver lifted his head and looked at her, she said affectionately with a smile on her face, "Let's go inside."

Roy and Oliver got inside the house and found that there was no decoration stuff in her house. Even though, when Roy looked at the dining table, he saw a beautiful tablecloth covering it, with a small flower vase with some white lilies in it was at the center of the table. Also, there were 5 different dishes present at the table. Those things didn't seem odd to Oliver because he didn't know Riza like Roy, who was surprised and knew very well why Riza did that, she was also looking very happy.

Riza went toward the dining table and picked up all the lilies in the vase except one, she then picked up a yellow lily from the bouquet and put it in the vase. Watching that, Oliver looked at Roy and started smiling and teasing Roy without making any noise. While Oliver was teasing his father, Roy grinned and pointed toward the vase which now contained a white, a yellow and a pink lily. Because the vase now had 1 flower of each color, Oliver stopped teasing Roy. Riza then put the remaining flowers near her awards and looked toward Roy and Oliver.

"You must be hungry," Riza said while walking toward the dining table.

"I am very hungry, I don't know about dad though," Oliver said.

"Let's eat then," Riza suggested.

All three of them sat around the small dining table as a family. Roy and Riza sat opposite to each other, while Oliver sat in between them. Riza already knew that Oliver would need a high chair to eat properly, so she had put a pillow on the chair where Oliver was sitting. She then poured some food on Oliver's and Roy's plate.

Riza had prepared all the favorite dishes of Oliver, so when Oliver saw them, he got overjoyed.

"Wow Ma'am, you always know what I like," Oliver praised excitedly.

Riza smiled and thanked Oliver while serving the remaining dishes.

While eating, Oliver was calling Hayate to feed him some of his food, but he was persuaded by Riza.

"You can play with him later Oli. Hayate has his own food, you don't need to feed him," Riza said politely.

Hayate also barked with agreement, and returned back to finish his food in the bowl. Oliver then looked toward Riza and asked, "Do you live alone with Hayate?"

Riza looked at Hayate who was also eating his dinner on the floor, and replied, "Yes...Hayate is like a son to me."

"Dad told me that you are very strict, but you always treat me nicely whenever we meet. Sometimes you scold me though, but that is fine," Oliver said.

"I am only strict to people who don't behave, like your dad," She smirked while looking toward Roy before finishing off her sentence.

"So I don't behave, hmm?" Roy said.

They spent the time by eating and talking like a happy family. And after finishing the dinner, when Oliver was about to get out from his chair, Riza interrupted.

"Oli, I have something else too," Riza said.

Oliver moved back to his chair and asked curiously, "What is it, Ma'am?"

"Wait, let me bring it," Riza replied while moving out from her chair.

She went to the kitchen and brought an ample amount of ice cream in two bowls. Oliver's eyes started sparkling when he saw those bowls.

"YOU ARE THE BEST, MA'AM," He gushed.

Riza placed one bowl in front of Oliver and another one, in front of Roy. As soon as Oliver saw the ice cream bowl in front of him, he took the spoon and started eating it. Roy on the other side, looked at Riza who didn't have an ice cream bowl for herself.

"You are not going to have some?" Roy asked.

"No, I got something sweeter than ice cream," She replied while looking at Oliver eating ice cream.

Roy smiled, looking at Riza's happy face.

They spent some time telling Oliver some stories from their life, and finally, it was time to leave. Roy, Riza, Oliver, and Hayate were standing outside Riza's apartment, where Roy's car was parked. There was also a driver and a bodyguard standing beside the car.

"Thank you for the dinner Major," Roy thanked.

"It's my pleasure," Riza responded.

Meanwhile, Oliver remembered something. "Oh…oh…I forgot to give you something"

"What is it Oli?" Riza asked.

Oliver pulled out a small sheet from his pocket and gave it to Riza. The sheet was folded so she unfolded it. It was a childish drawing of a smiling girl standing beside a tree with her hands behind and her feet joined showing shyness.

"How is it, Ma'am?" Oliver asked anxiously.

The drawing was very good when you know that it was drawn by a 9-year-old. But still, Riza was only able to identify that the drawing was of some girl and nothing beyond that. So, she asked politely, "Who is this girl?"

"I copied it from a photo of yours my dad had. He told me that a photographer took this photo when you were a girl. I know that drawing is not that good but, I tried my best," Oliver blushed.

Riza stopped for a moment, looked at Roy and smiled. Riza knew that Roy had one of her childhood photographs, still, he started laughing awkwardly out of embarrassment. Riza then bent down to give a kiss on Oliver's cheek.

"Thank you Oli," She tousled his hair affectionately.

"You are welcome," Oliver smiled.

"You are a pretty lucky guy, you know? You got Hawkeye's kiss," Roy commented.

Hayate also barked with agreement and started wagging his tail, due to which Oliver chuckled. Meanwhile, Riza reminded them of something crucial. She said, "I think you should go now, it's already late and Oli has his school tomorrow"

"Goodnight then," Roy said.

Oliver also followed up and said, "Goodnight Ma'am. Goodnight Hayate, I will meet you tomorrow"

Oliver bent down and tousled Hayate's head to which Hayate responded with a bark.

"Goodnight you two," Riza responded.

The bodyguard then opened the car's back door, and the father-son duo got inside. They took their farewell from Riza after that. Riza also went to her house with Hayate and closed the door. She took the drawing into her bedroom and put it in the drawer beside her bed after placing a kiss on it.

While sleeping she kept on thinking about telling a secret to Oliver which she hid from him from a long time. She finally decided to reveal whatever truth she was hiding the next evening, after Oliver's school. And she slept thinking about how she was going to tell Oliver the truth, and how he was going to react after listening to it.


	16. The Unexpected (Part 6- Smuggler's Path)

" _Do not fear the unknown, because that is the place from where great discoveries come from."_

 **[Briggs]**

General Armstrong had selected 2 of her soldiers who would guide Danny and Maria to Drachma, where they would meet a person named Boris, who would take them to Othon, the capital city of Drachma. The soldiers who were selected by Olivier were Sergeant Ronny Williams and Second Lieutenant Steven Hill. The reason they were selected was that they knew the path to the smuggler's path and had previously traveled through it.

Smuggler's path was a very infamous icy tunnel which was considered a miracle of nature. The tunnel connected Amestris and Drachma by penetrating through mountains. Even after having just a tunnel, no one dared to step foot in it. Lots of people had gone missing in that tunnel because of its maze-like structure and presence of natural traps like thin ice, potholes, icicles, and absence of light. Moreover, the militaries of both the nation didn't guard the path as there were multiple entrances and, normally nobody took those paths due to the dangers inside the path. Only Lieutenant Steven Hill in Briggs was the only one who had experience in crossing the dangerous tunnel.

It was 8 AM in the morning, yet the climate was ruthless in Briggs. The newly formed team by General Armstrong was walking through heavy snow and snowy wind, which was decreasing the visibility almost to zero. Everyone was wearing the Briggs military's white uniform to tackle through the harsh climate and remain undetectable. They were also carrying necessary tools and weapons for their travel, but instead of big rifles, Maria and Danny were carrying only handguns.

"I heard that the smuggler's path is not a safe route," Maria shouted in the blizzard so that their guides could hear.

"Yes, but don't worry, we will take you there safely," Ronny assured.

"How many times have you gone through this path?" Maria asked.

"Well, I haven't crossed the path ever," Ronny answered.

Maria and Danny stopped walking when they heard Ronny's answer, but they were quickly assured by Steven. "Don't worry, I have been through the path multiple times."

Danny and Maria heaved a sigh of relief and started walking again. But, Ronny continued to scare them. "But, still the path has lots of uncertainties," he said.

"Stop scaring us," Danny responded annoyingly.

Meanwhile, Steven interrupted. "You should be scared, after all, it's called the path to the afterlife," He said.

Ronny burst into laughter when he heard his superior making fun of the soldiers from Central Command, and why not? After all the soldiers of Briggs were considered the toughest and bravest soldiers in all of Amestris. On the other side, Danny and Maria stopped listening to their scary stories and continued to follow them in that harsh weather and snowy path.

After an hour of walk, they reached a place where Steven stopped.

"Why did you stop?" Maria asked curiously.

"We are here. One of the entrances to 'Smuggler's Path'," Steven replied while standing still and looking toward the bottom of the snow covered mountain.

Steven walked a bit forward, near the bottom of a mountain which seemed to be like a door covered with snow. The soldier wiped the snow with his gloves covered hand, and revealed the entrance. It was a 5 feet X 6 feet doorway blocked by crystallized water. So the Brigg's soldier pulled out their chisel-faced hammers and started breaking the crystallized water. The crystal was thin, so it broke in few minutes. And after clearing the blockage, they entered inside the tunnel. They were saved from the blizzard but, their new shelter was very dark. However, they came prepared to the tunnel. They lighted up the lanterns they brought with them to see through the darkness. When it was lighted, they saw the tunnel, it was huge and there were lots of paths inside as if it was a maze.

"Great, now there so many paths to choose from," Danny glowered.

Meanwhile, Steven informed, "These paths are pure ice which reform every year, that's why this place is like a maze. But, there are more dangerous things than these paths."

Maria and Danny quickly looked curiously toward Steven. "Like what?" Danny asked.

"Bears," Ronny replied in a slow and scary voice.

Danny and Maria were shocked to learn that. They responded in sync, "WHAT!"

"Just kidding," Ronny laughed.

Observing Danny's and Maria's reaction, Steven asked, "Why you two are so afraid? If you're so scared here, then why are you even going to the enemy territory?"

"Who said we are afraid? We were just surprised," Danny laughed nervously.

"Yes, he is right," Maria supported him with an uncomfortable laughter.

Steven ignored their unconvincing excuse and ordered, "Alright. Now follow me, and whatever happens, do not separate."

All of them advanced further into the tunnel in a line with Steven leading them, followed by Ronny holding one lantern, who was followed by Maria, and Danny was at the end, holding the other lantern. The tunnel was too dark, so they could only see a few meters around them. When it came to choosing a path among several paths which were available, Steven put his ears on the floor and then selected the leftmost path in front of them, and kept on walking ahead. Danny and Maria were amazed by the process of selecting a path.

"How did you choose this path?" Maria asked curiously.

"There is a small water channel flowing below this tunnel. If you place your ear on the floor and listen carefully, you can hear the water flow. Based on that, you can predict from where the water is flowing and then you can follow the sound of the water channel, which straight up will lead you to the exit. But, it can't be done by everyone," Ronny replied. He continued, "By the way, Lieutenant Hill is also known as the Angel. Not because he is a good person, but he is the only person in Briggs who can come and go through 'the path to the afterlife'," He mocked Steven.

Ronny giggled soon after that, and listening to his explanation, Danny and Maria also started laughing. Suddenly, Steven shouted, "EVERYBODY STOP WHEREVER YOU ARE."

Everyone was startled and stood still at the place where they were standing. Soon after that, they got there answer to why Steven asked them to stop, as they could now hear the ice below them cracking. All of them looked at the floor to see where the ice was cracking, and unfortunately, the floor below Ronny was the answer.

Ronny was terrified to every bone in his body. And instead of worrying, Steven smiled and said, "This is what you get when you make fun of the person who is guiding you."

"Sorry Lieutenant, please help me," Ronny cried.

"Stop whining you idiot. If General Armstrong finds out that there is a whiner in her unit, then just imagine what she will do to you," Steven scolded.

Meanwhile, the Ice below Ronny started making more cracking noise, because of which Ronny started trembling. In order to save him, Steven pulled out the rope he brought with him and stretched it toward Ronny. Ronny held the rope tightly.

"Looks like that is a pothole covered by thin ice. It doesn't look that wide though, but if you fall, you might die," Steven said.

"WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO SCARE ME?" Ronny cried.

Steven coiled the other end of the rope around his wrist and looked toward Danny and Maria who were cautiously standing still behind Ronny.

"You two stay there," He instructed.

Danny and Maria nodded with agreement. Then Steven looked back toward Ronny and said calmly, "Now it's your turn to jump."

Ronny took a deep breath and jumped toward Steven. As soon as he jumped, the floor below him broke, and a pothole of around 1 square meter appeared. Out of curiosity, everyone went near the pothole to see what was below it. When they gazed, there was only darkness, so they tied the rope at the lantern holder and lowered it down slowly. Slowly, the things down there started revealing themselves, and when the lantern was around 30 feet down, they could see what was below there. The scene was so unbelievable, that their eyes were widened watching it. The place was full of human skeletons, swords, and metal armors.

"This doesn't seem like these people took this path just to smuggle things," Maria said.

"If I am not wrong, then these bodies can be from the first northern wars when Amestris attacked Drachma to capture a big part of it. After defeating the Drachmann army, Amestris built a wall in Briggs to block the open area between Drachma and the newly captured part by the Amestrian military, which is now known as Fort Briggs," Steven informed doubtfully.

"And other parts of the northern border is blocked by mountains. So, if Drachma ever had to attack Amestris, then there only option was through Fort Briggs," Maria added.

"Right. Now let's leave, and let them rest in peace," Steven said while moving away from the pothole.

Ronny pulled out the lantern and untied the knot on its handle. He bundled up the rope and hanged it on his waist, and held the lantern. Everyone then followed behind Steven.

Now that Steven knew there was a danger of potholes, he first used to examine the path before proceeding. After some time, they followed every safe and correct route and got out of that tunnel. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief after successfully getting out of that dangerous tunnel.

"We are in enemy territory now, we cannot stay here, and the safe point is only 5 miles away from here. We need to get there and then only we can relax," Steven ordered.

Now that they had witnessed his surviving skills, everyone responded to him with a "Yes Sir" respectfully, and followed him further.


	17. The Unexpected (Part 7 - Toby)

" _No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected"_

 **[Drachma]**

After leaving Smuggler's Path behind, the team from Briggs was proceeding toward the safe point where they were going to meet Boris, the person who would take them to Othon. They were walking through heavy snow, due to which, covering 5 miles had become a difficult task for them. Gradually, the level of snow decreased, and by the time they had traveled 4 miles, there was very less snow on the ground, but some trees' branches were covered with little snow.

While walking, Danny complained. "I didn't know getting into Drachma would be this difficult," Danny panted.

"You two are really bad in this kind of areas," Ronny mocked.

Meanwhile, Steven interrupted. "So, you served under Maes Hughes, in the department of military intelligence?" He asked.

Danny replied with a "Yes".

So, Steven asked another question. "So, have you been to any other spy mission before this?"

"Very few," Maria replied.

Suddenly, Danny stopped walking for some reason, because of which, the whole team stopped.

"What happened? Do you want to take a break so early?" Ronny teased.

Danny didn't listen to him and walked toward a pine tree whose branches were covered with some snow, and there was a little snow at its bottom. When he reached near the tree's bottom, he bent down to see something. It was a bloomed flower with white petals and a white stem. There were no leaves or branches on that small plant which was a few inches long.

Danny was mesmerized by the beauty of that small natural wonder. "Wow, look at this flower. In a region and weather like this, it's blooming like the world around it doesn't matter," he admired.

Everyone rushed toward him because of the way he responded. They were also excited to see the flower he was talking about. And when they saw it, they were as amazed as he was.

"We are so lucky," Steven chuckled, and continued, "I think, it is the undying flower – 'Harmonia'"

Ronny couldn't believe Steven's words. He asked, "How can that be? Harmonia is a very rare flower…we can't just happen to come across one."

"Yes, it's rare, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist," Steven replied.

"I have heard, these flowers are sold at millions of cenz in Amestris," Danny added.

"Yes, it's such a rare and magnificent flower after all. Now, pluck it, consider it a good omen," Steven said.

Maria and Danny were surprised to hear Steven's words. They looked at him with confusion, and then Maria asked, "Will it be okay to pluck it?"

"There is a reason it is called the undying flower… pluck it, and this flower will appear the same even after years," Steven answered.

Maria moved her hand toward the flower and plucked it. When she turned around, she saw Ronny and Danny were staring her with envious eyes. They were uncomfortable with the fact that she got the flower which was worth millions.

"Don't worry. I won't take it…we will later decide what to do with this flower," Maria said annoyingly.

"It will be better if you hide that flower. If anyone else finds about this flower, then they might kill you to take it," Steven advised.

Maria gulped and put the flower in a small box she had, and put the box in her small bag under her thick coat. Then they resumed their walk toward the safe point. After some time they reached the safe point, which was an abandoned war camp. There was a bunker, but no soldier was present there. So, they moved forward and stopped at the entry point of the bunker.

"I am going inside. Danny will come with me and rest of you, keep an eye outside and warn us if you see anything unusual," Steven ordered.

Steven and Danny then went inside the bunker. It was dark inside, so Danny was holding a lantern to light the way and Steve was holding his rifle ready for protection behind Danny. Both of them were cautiously moving more inside the bunker and suddenly, they heard some object fall on the floor. Steve thought it could be Boris, so he shouted,

"BORIS, IS THAT YOU?"

Just after Steven stopped calling for Boris, they heard lots of objects were falling on the floor at a distant. Steven gave his rifle to Danny and took the lantern Danny was holding. He then slowly moved forward with the lantern to see what was in front of them. When the light of the lantern reached a little farther, they saw some big animal was approaching toward them slowly. Soon, they saw its face when a little light fell on it. The beast was a very big brown bear, and it was slowly walking toward them.

"Danny, get ready to run. And, keep on shouting so that Maria and Ronny get warned," Steven ordered Danny in a low voice, while still looking toward the bear.

"Yes Sir," Danny whispered.

Danny was afraid, he had never seen such a big carnivore in his entire life. The bear was looking at them, and both of them were looking at the bear with fear. And when the bear roared, Steven shouted, "RUN"

Both of them turned around and started running toward the entry point. The bear was chasing them, and according to Steve's order, Danny was running while shouting, "BEAR, BEAR, RUN". Maria and Ronny looked toward the bunker when they heard Danny's voice. They saw Danny and Steve were running toward them, and soon they saw the bear which was behind them. They understood what to do and started running. Even after coming out of the bunker, the bear was chasing them. While they were running, they saw a tall middle-aged man at a distance in front of them. He was wearing a beanie cap and a furry coat. Watching the man, Steve shouted,

"ARE YOU BORIS?"

"YES," The man replied.

"RUN, THERE IS A BEAR BEHIND US. WE CAN TALK LATER," Steven said while running.

When they crossed Boris, they realized that neither Boris nor the bear was running behind them. So, they stopped and looked back. They were stunned at the scene they were watching. The Bear was standing right beside Boris, and Boris was patting the Bear. Boris then looked at them and apologized with a grin on his face, "Sorry he scared you. His name is Toby."


	18. Joy & Sorrow (Part 1 - Ludwig)

" _Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the courage to admit them"_

 **[December 1905]**

It had been 4 days since Roy came back to Central City after submitting his report on Krid Novak at Eastern Command. He was traveling with his superior, Colonel Ludwig in a car, through the outskirt of the city. Both of them were sitting at the back of the car while one other soldier was driving it.

"How was your assignment?" Ludwig enquired.

"It was fine, but I couldn't find anything suspicious happening around him. Except, one of my local informer one day disappeared suddenly." Roy replied.

Ludwig took a sigh of relief, and said, "Good thing you returned safely."

Roy couldn't understand, so he asked anxiously, "What do you mean?"

"The assignment you took over is normally rejected by everyone. I never told you that the previous officers who were assigned the task disappeared. Everyone believes that all of them are long dead, that is why I told you specifically to never approach his house." Ludwig answered.

"I read his report, and everything mentioned there was before the Ishvalan war. There was no explanation on why he was court-martialed," Roy said.

"That's because the Fuehrer wanted to keep it hidden from others. Krid Novak was the one responsible for the utmost destruction in the civil war when it all began. He killed dozens of Ishvalans with his bare hands. Neither had he used any weapon, nor he was any alchemist, yet no one dared to fight him. Things became ugly when he started killing Amestrian soldiers because he had a difference in opinion with them. Even after killing 20 Amestrian soldiers, the Fuehrer didn't punish him. He sent him to that bloody town to-" Ludwig was interrupted when the driver suddenly pushed the brakes.

Ludwig looked toward the driver and asked curiously, "What happened?"

"Sir, Ishvalans," the driver exclaimed.

When Ludwig and Roy saw in front of them through the windshield of the car, they saw two Ishvalans at some distance. The men also saw them and rushed inside a 2 floored broken building. Before following them, Ludwig gave an order to his subordinates, "Go and contact the headquarters, tell them we need reinforcement. And Mustang, you come with me"

Ludwig and Roy then got out of the car and went near the building, with their handguns. Ludwig hand-signaled Roy to cover him while they enter inside. Roy understood his superior and both of them entered through the door-less entrance of the building. As soon as they entered inside the building, two Ishvalans started shooting at them from behind a 5 feet high wall. Ludwig and Roy took cover behind the pillars present near them. The 2 Ishvalans were using a rifle so, after every 2 shots, they had to reload their guns. But, they were shooting alternatively, so that when one is reloading his gun, then the other one can cover him. Ludwig understood that and he came up with an idea. He signaled Roy to distract them by firing at them. Roy followed his order and started firing rapid shots at them from behind the pillar. Because of that, the Ishvalans started firing at him and getting the small gap, Ludwig shot dead the shooter.

When the other Ishvalan saw his ally fall on the floor, he panicked and went emotional. He stood up and walked toward Ludwig while firing like a man possessed, but Roy shot at his hands. The rifle he was holding, fell on the floor, but he quickly pulled out a knife and charged toward Roy like a rabid dog. Roy froze for a moment when he saw the enraged man coming toward him with a knife. He had never killed a man in his life, but if in that condition, he was not going to pull the trigger, the Ishvalan man was definitely going to kill him. So, he pulled the trigger and the bullet in his gun was released toward the man, and it just passed by the man's shoulder. He couldn't believe that he missed. He pulled the trigger again, but there were no more bullets in his gun and the man was just a few feet away. He could see death right in front of him in the form of that Ishvalan man, but suddenly, he heard a gunshot, and the man fell on his knees.

The Ishvalan man was shot on his kneecap. The man was still trying to stand up but, Ludwig again shot at the other kneecap. That man was now completely disabled with only one hand working properly, in which he was holding the knife. They took the knife from the man and tied him to a pillar. Then they went toward the upper floor.

While going, Ludwig said, "You should start doing some fire alchemy, Mustang. We both are out of bullets and we cannot let these terrorists escape."

"But Colonel, I still need some more time to practice my alchemy. I cannot pinpoint or control the temperature right now. It might accidentally kill the target." he informed.

"We already have one terrorist in our custody. We don't need anymore. Now pull out your gloves, that's an order," Ludwig rebuked.

Roy was impotent against his superior's order. He pulled out his ignition gloves from the coat pocket and wore them. Both of them then moved toward the upper floor where they found a room whose door was closed.

They moved cautiously toward the room and stood beside on either side of the closed door. When Ludwig tried to turn the knob of the door, someone fired from inside. There were 2 shots, after which they heard the gun reloading. On understanding the situation, Ludwig whispered Roy to attack the person inside when he opens the door. Ludwig then again tried to turn the knob, and as expected, there were few shots after which the person inside was reloading the gun. So, Ludwig kicked the door and moved aside to let Roy attack.

"NOW MUSTANG," Ludwig shouted.

Roy was ready, standing in front of the door to snap and burn whoever was shooting them. And when the door opened, he saw a scared woman reloading her gun looking directly at him with fear. Roy was unable to snap when he looked at the scarlet eyes of that panicked Ishvalan woman. The woman finished reloading in few a seconds and was about to shoot him. Roy was unable to think anything else at that moment and did what he had to, in order to survive. He snapped but, the fire he created was unstable and burnt the whole room. The room burnt within a few seconds. The scream of that woman was echoing throughout the building and the scream of another woman was also coming from that room.

After some time, the fire stopped and by then the military was also there. Roy was still thinking who else was inside that room. He was waiting outside the building to see the dead bodies. First, the captured Ishvalan man was taken to Central Command for interrogation. After which, all the dead bodies were brought out one by one. The first one was of the man who was shot dead by Ludwig, the second one was of the woman who was shooting at them. She was burnt to a charcoal. When the third dead body was brought out, he saw a badly burnt body of a woman. The woman died in a curled position. It seemed like she was scared. Roy couldn't believe the horror he committed in the building. There were beads of sweat on his forehead and his eyes were filled with anguish. He went to one of the soldiers who brought the last body and asked him anxiously, "Where did you find this body?"

"She was at the corner of the room that you burnt. It looked like she was sitting at the corner out of fear," the soldier replied.

Roy was speechless and horrified when he heard the answer. And suddenly, he felt someone placing their hand on his shoulder from behind.

"Don't blame yourself for their death. You acted according to my orders," Ludwig continued, "You should take a day off."

Roy adhered to his superior's order again and went straight to Madam Christmas' bar. He took a table all for himself that day and kept on thinking and drinking till night. When the bar was about to close and no one was at the bar except Roy. Suddenly, someone close to Roy entered through the door.

"Hey Roy," Maes shouted, but Roy was didn't bother to look at his best friend.

He walked toward Roy's table and sat on the opposite side. Maes looked at the half-finished bottle of rum and the half-filled glass on the table with concern. He then continued, "I was looking for you everywhere, I thought you will be at home right now."

"Go away Maes, I don't want to talk to you," Roy said in a drunk voice while looking down at the table.

Maes asked Madam Christmas with gesture about Roy, and Chris replied with a Gallic shrug to tell she didn't know. So, Maes looked at his friend who was still averting his eyes from him, and said, "Did someone rejected you? I told you to wear some nice clothes, comb your hair and get a flower bouquet before talking to a woman. I think I will get a girl before you. Do you know what happened today?" He continued excitedly, "I was buying some groceries in the city and I saw a beautiful woman. What an angel she was…I was buying tomatoes and she was buying apples right beside me, and suddenly an apple fell from her hand. She and I bent down to pick up the apple at the same time and, our hand touched…Then she looked at me and-"

"Stop it, Maes," Roy requested politely. And then picked up the half-filled rum glass to drink, but Maes stopped him by grabbing his hand.

"Leave my hands, Maes," Roy growled while looking toward his friend with his anguished eyes.

"Tell me what happened?" Maes asked politely.

"I think you can find out yourself. You are in the Intelligence Department after all," Roy teased.

Maes got angry and snatched the glass from Roy's hand. Because of Maes' action, Roy glared at Maes and yelled, "Give me my glass back"

"Not unless you tell me what happened," Maes insisted.

Roy lowered his eyes. "I killed 2 Ishvalans today," He rued.

Maes understood which incident he was talking about. He knew about the incident but, he didn't know the details. Meanwhile, Roy continued regretting. "I promised someone that I will never use alchemy to hurt people, yet I did. He revolted when I joined the military. He said that I would become a dog of the military…I think he was right, I have become a dog."

Maes put the glass back on the table. He couldn't see such a broken image of his best friend. So he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he looked fiercely toward Roy. "Stop crying like a bitch. What's done is done. What did you think when you joined the military? Did you think you can stay away from incidents like this? I am not saying you to forget what happened today, I am just saying accept it and continue living…You once told me you want to make this country a better place, and I am sure you can't do that if you keep on acting like this," Maes scolded.

He then sighed and stood up. "Come on let's go home, I will drop you there," He smiled while lending his hand to help his friend get up.

Roy felt a little relieved from his friend's speech, but overcoming the guilt was a very difficult task for him. He looked at the grin on his friend's face and the hand he was lending to help him stand up. He accepted Maes' offer of getting a lift till home, but he stood up without taking his help.


	19. Joy & Sorrow (Part 2 - Richard)

" _Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere."_

 **[Present Day]**

After Oliver returned from Xing, he requested to stay with his father. As the conditions in the Central city were stable now, and Roy was promoted to a General, he agreed to his son's request. Roy enrolled Oliver in the most secure and reputed school throughout Amestris, which was situated in Central City. The school was a 100-year-old school, where mostly the children of high society used to study. It was like a fortress due to the continuous presence of military guards. So, Roy thought it to be the perfect place for his only child to study.

It had been 4 days since Oliver joined his new school, but making friends was a difficult task for him like always. He liked to study rather than play with other children. He didn't even like the teachings in the school because he found it very easy. He only agreed to attend the classes like other children of his age, when Roy promised him to teach alchemy during the weekends. So, to keep his promise, that day also, he was sitting through the maths class, waiting for it to get over. The skinny brown haired maths teacher was also eagerly waiting for the class to get over.

After some time, the bell rang and the maths class was over. The maths teacher took his books from the table, used the duster to erase everything on the board. He then dusted off the chalk powder accumulated on his formal attire and his eye glasses. Then he called Oliver by his full name while looking toward him.

Oliver was looking at some birds outside through the window. So, when he suddenly heard his full name, he startled and quickly stood up.

"Yes, Sir!" Oliver responded while looking toward the maths teacher.

"Can you please come with me?" The teacher asked.

Oliver got out of his seat and followed the maths teacher to his room.

The teacher's name was Richard Green, and he was an old employee at the school. He was an Amestrian born, middle-aged man. When Oliver entered inside Richard's room, he saw it was filled with books. It was like a mini library.

"I suppose, we are meeting for the first time?" Richard asked while putting the books he was holding, on his desk.

"Yes Sir," Oliver replied.

Richard pulled out a chair and asked Oliver to sit. Oliver sat on the chair which was a little high for his height because his feet were not touching the floor. Then Richard pulled out a chair for himself and sat in front of Oliver.

"So, you are the son of General Roy Mustang, the famous flame alchemist?" Richard smiled.

"Yes sir," Oliver replied.

"What do you think about my teaching style?" Richard asked with a smile.

"It was great," Oliver answered hesitantly.

"Really? Well, I saw you looking out of the window throughout the class," Richard said.

Oliver thought that his teacher was about to complain his father. So, he started apologizing to Richard. "I will pay more attention from the next class. Please don't tell my dad," He pleaded.

"I am not going to complain your father, Oliver," Richard informed.

He then sighed and looked into Oliver's eyes, which made Oliver a bit nervous. So, Oliver slowly averted his eyes.

"You do have the eyes of your mother," Richard said.

Oliver's uncomfortableness suddenly disappeared when he heard about his mother. He looked directly toward Richard with widened eyes.

"You know my mother?" He asked anxiously.

"Yes, she is a good friend of mine," he replied and continued, "You haven't met your mother yet. Have you?"

Oliver narrowed his eyes and answered with a sad voice, "No... My father never told me anything about her."

"The truth is… your father and mother had a quarrel long time ago. So, your father never lets your mother meet you. You know she is very sad about that," Richard said.

"Dad can never do that," Oliver said skeptically.

"Why don't you ask your mother yourself?" Richard said.

Oliver was instantly overjoyed when he learned that he could meet his mother. A big grin appeared on his face and he asked curiously, "Do you know where my mother is?"

"Of course, after all, your mother and I are good friends," Richard replied confidently and with a smile.

"Can you please take me to her?" Oliver requested.

"Why not? She will be very happy to see you," Richard answered.

Oliver couldn't stop smiling. He was very happy that he was finally going to meet his mother.

"When can we go?" Oliver asked anxiously.

"During recess, meet me at the back gate of the school. Okay?" Richard replied and asked for confirmation.

Oliver nodded and answered with "Okay".

"Now go, you have a class to attend and don't tell anyone about this, because if your father finds out that you are meeting your mother, he will beat her like always and take you away," Richard added.

Oliver was surprised to find that his father hit his mother. Still, he was so excited to meet his mother that he agreed. After that, he went back to his class and eagerly waited for the recess.

After some classes, recess time came, for which Oliver was waiting. He got out of the classroom as soon as the teacher left the class and went to the back gate by hiding from everyone. When he reached the gate, there was no one nearby except 2 guards, who were standing there. One of the guards saw Oliver and approached him.

"Hey there, are you looking for someone?" The guard asked.

When Oliver looked toward the guard, he noticed his dark skin and scarlet eyes. He understood that the man was an Ishvalan, but he still thought him to be the school guard. Then he remembered that he was not supposed to tell anyone about his meeting with his mother. So he panicked when the guard asked him the question.

"No one," Oliver stuttered.

"You must be little Mustang. Don't worry… Mr. Richard told me about you. He is waiting over there in that car," The guard pointed toward a car waiting outside the gate.

Oliver took a sigh of relief when he learned that the guards were with Richard. He thanked them and ran toward the car which was waiting outside the gate.

When he entered inside the car, instead of Richard, he saw someone else. A big muscular middle-aged Ishvalan man, wearing a suit without a tie, was sitting in the car. His name was Rolan, and he was part of IFF (Ishvalan Freedom Front). IFF was a group of Ishvalan who were fighting for making Ishval a free country. The group was considered a terrorist organization by the Amestrian military because IFF was involved in the killings of many Amestrian soldiers.

"Hello Oliver," Rolan greeted politely.

Oliver was afraid of the giant man sitting next to him. Still, he gathered courage and asked, "But, the guard told me, Mr. Richard was waiting, who are you?"

"Richard had some urgent work so, he left. You can call me Rolan and I will be taking you to your mother," Rolan replied.

Meanwhile, the driver started the car and left that place. Soon they reached a warehouse at an unknown place in Central City. As soon as they reached there, Oliver got out of the car and shouted excitedly, "MOM…MOM…MOM"

He was very excited to meet his mother, but no one was responding to his words. After a few moments, Rolan interrupted from behind, "Oliver…your mother is not here. Sorry, we lied to you that we know your mother."

Oliver turned around and looked at Rolan with disbelief. He gradually understood when some IFF militants started gathering there. Tears from his eyes started sliding down his cheek and he started hiccupping.

"But, wh…why would you lie to me about m..my mother?" He sobbed.

"We had to," Rolan replied.

Oliver understood that he was kidnapped. So, he tried to run away even in that hopeless situation, where he was surrounded by IFF militants. Soon, Rolan grabbed him and picked him up. Oliver kept on crying and resisted a lot, but he was just a child held by a giant-sized man. Rolan took him inside the warehouse, where the leader of IFF was waiting for them.


	20. Joy & Sorrow (Part 3 - The Lady)

" _The emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it"_

 **[December 1905]**

Few weeks had passed since Roy left for Central City, and Riza was missing him very badly. She remembered the promise he made to her before leaving, that he would marry her the next time he returns and take her with him. The memories were one of the major things to keep her happy, and the others were novels, especially romance novels. That day also, she was sitting on the sofa, reading some novel, when she heard the door open. It was Matilda, the caretaker of Riza and the house. She had some grocery bags in her hand. Riza quickly put her book on the sofa and went to Matilda to help her with the groceries.

Matilda handed over the grocery bags to Riza and said, "I have brought some strawberries and kiwis as you wished. By the way, you don't like Kiwis much, now why all of a sudden did you demanded them?"

"I don't know. I just saw an image of Kiwi in a book, and I felt like I should eat one," Riza replied.

Riza went to the kitchen and left the groceries at a proper place, and returned back with a glass of water. She gave the glass to Matilda, who was now sitting on the sofa. When Matilda took the glass, she noticed beads of sweat on Riza's forehead. So, she asked with a concerned voice, "Are you feeling alright dear?"

"I am feeling a bit sick from few days, but its ok," Riza replied with a smile.

Matilda kept the glass aside and quickly stood up from the sofa with a worried look on her face. She shouted, "WHAT? YOU'RE SICK AND YOU ARE TELLING ME NOW?" She started checking Riza's temperature by placing her hand on Riza's neck and forehead.

"Ms. Becker you are worried for nothing," she persuaded and continued, "I am just fi-." But, before she could complete her sentence, she fainted and fell on the floor. Matilda got terrified upon watching that, she quickly bent down and placed Riza's head on her lap. Then she sprinkled the water in the glass on Riza's face. After 5 minutes, Riza gained consciousness and found her head resting on Matilda's lap. Matilda got happy upon seeing Riza conscious.

"Oh, baby…I am feeling very bad…I am definitely a terrible caretaker," Matilda sobbed.

"How many times have I told you? You have always been my mother and not a caretaker." Riza said while getting up.

Matilda then helped Riza sit on the sofa, and she sat beside Riza with a worried face. She then looked at Riza and said worriedly, "We are going to the doctor."

"I already met the doctor yesterday," Riza informed hesitantly.

"WHAT! You already been to the doctor, and I don't know about it?" Matilda looked confusingly toward Riza.

Riza narrowed her eyes. "Sorry, I should have informed you," She apologized with a low voice.

Matilda sighed and took a moment before speaking. She asked, "So, what did the doctor say?"

"He said that-" Riza paused and was not making any eye contact with Matilda. She was looking at the floor nervously. This made Matilda more anxious.

"HE SAID WHAT? Now you are making me wor-" Matilda shouted.

"He said that I am pregnant," Riza interrupted by finishing off her answer, and soon after that, she started blushing.

Matilda was speechless. She was looking at Riza with widened eyes and open mouth. It took a moment for her to calm down.

"It seems that you are happy. Are you going to tell him?" Matilda asked politely.

"Not now. I want to give him a surprise when he will return," She kept blushing, averting her eyes from Matilda.

"Do you think he will accept this child?" Matilda asked.

Riza stopped blushing and looked toward Matilda. She replied confidently, "We know each other from quite a long time Ms. Becker and I can tell when he lies. This time he was quite serious about marrying me. I know him. He will not ever lie to me."

"But you know he is military. What if something happens to him? You know the conditions in Ishval…lots of soldiers have lost their lives and few of them were even Roy's age," Matilda said with a worried face.

"Ms. Becker, can you please stop filling my mind with those thoughts?" Riza angered.

"All right. But, tell that idiot of yours. If after getting married, he treats you any bad, Ms. Becker will come and ruin his pretty face," Matilda joked, which made Riza laugh.

Time passed on, and Riza was now 2 months into her pregnancy. Matilda was taking care of her and her unborn child. But there was one thing which was making her restless most of the time. There was no letter or anything from Roy after he left. So Riza finally decided to contact Roy, and she called at the number on the contact card which Roy gave to her during her father's funeral.

A phone rang at the Central Headquarters, and a lady picked up the phone. "Hello, Central Headquarter. How may I help you?" The lady responded.

"Can I please talk to Major Roy Mustang, The flame alchemist?" Riza asked hesitantly.

"May I know your name?" The lady enquired.

"It's Riza Hawkeye," Riza replied.

"Hold on, I am calling Major Mustang's office and let him know," The lady informed.

Riza was very happy that finally, she was going to talk to Roy. But, all the happiness disappeared from her face when she heard the lady's voice after a minute.

"Sorry Miss Riza, but he can't talk to you now. He is busy with some urgent work," The lady said.

Riza got upset and hanged up the receiver. After that, she kept on calling Roy for 3-4 days and she always received the same answer. On the fifth day, when she called the headquarters again. Again the lady picked up the receiver and answered the call with her usual greeting, "Hello, Central Headquarters. How may I help you?"

"May I talk to Major Mustang? It's Riza Hawkeye," Riza asked anxiously.

In response, Riza received a very harsh reply. "Miss Riza, Major Mustang told me to inform you that he can't talk with you and asked you to stop calling him," the lady answered annoyingly.

Riza hanged up the receiver and sat on the sofa. Gradually, tears started sliding down her cheek, then she started hiccupping. She didn't cry out loud, but still, the suppressed voice of cries reached into Matilda's ears. As soon as Matilda heard the faint cry, she ran to see what happened and found Riza lying on the sofa with her head down and crying.

Matilda went near Riza and rubbed Riza's back gently. "What happened, dear?" She asked politely.

Riza quickly sat up and hugged Matilda tightly. "How can he do that? He promised me, he will come and take me with him," Riza sobbed.

Matilda understood what happened as she was watching her calling Roy every day and receiving no response from his side, which made her sad. She kept on rubbing Riza's back gently to sympathize with Riza.

"Don't worry child. I am here for you. Forget that bastard," Matilda assured.

Riza on the other side, kept on crying on Matilda's shoulder and kept on repeating the word, "Why? Why?" With every time she said that word, her voice was fading. Finally, she fell asleep on Matilda's shoulder uttering the same word again and again, in a faint voice.


	21. Joy & Sorrow (Part 4 - The Alley)

" _Sometimes you must lose everything to gain it again, and the regaining is the sweeter for the pain of loss"_

 **[Present day]**

Like every working day, Roy and his team were busy doing some paperwork. Now that Roy was a General, the amount of paperwork had increased significantly, and like always he procrastinated, but Riza was always present there to make sure he finishes his work.

Roy was in his chamber, signing some papers which Riza brought. He was sitting on his chair and signing the papers as fast as possible with his head down. Riza was standing in front of the desk, waiting for Roy to complete the work. As there was no one in the room, Roy asked something personal while signing, "Have you decided, when you are going to tell him?"

The question was clear as crystal to Riza. Roy asked about the secret that Riza hid from Oliver from a long time.

"Today evening," Riza replied.

A grin appeared on Roy's face when he heard the answer, and Riza also noticed that. Roy then continued, "You do know, what does that mean, right?"

"Yes," Riza sighed.

Roy stopped signing and excitedly looked at Riza with a grin and starry eyes. "So, what have you thought?" He asked curiously.

Riza was startled for a moment by his action. And after hearing the question, her eyebrows started twitching. "FINISH YOUR WORK. THE FUEHRER IS WAITING," She yelled.

Roy instantly lowered his head and resumed his paperwork at double the speed. And in a few minutes, he finished his work and relaxed on his chair, taking a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Riza picked up the papers and left the chamber without speaking a word.

After Riza left, Roy went out of his chamber and relaxed on the sofa in his office hall, where his team was busy with paperwork. As everyone was busy, Roy simply sat on the sofa, watching his team work. Suddenly a young soldier opened the door and ran toward Roy. Everyone was curiously looking at the soldier.

The soldier stood in front of Roy and saluted him. "Major General Mustang," he panted.

"What's the matter, soldier?" Roy asked.

The soldier calmed down before speaking.

"Sir, we have found a badly burnt body in an alley," the soldier answered.

"Why are you telling me this?" Roy exasperated, "I have some urgent work right now. Take Captain Falman with you if you need some assistance"

"Sir, the dead body is of a boy who looks like your son," the soldier informed.

Everybody got shocked when they heard that. Roy's heart started beating very fast at that moment. Without wasting any time he stood up and walked toward the door. "Let's go," said Roy.

Roy and his team member followed the soldier, who guided them to an alley, 3 miles away from the Central Headquarters. As soon as they reached there, Roy got out of the car and rushed toward the crime scene. Indeed he saw a dead body lying there covered with a white cloth. Roy's heartbeat rose as he walked closer to the covered corpse. By the size, it was certainly looking like a child's corpse.

When he reached near the body, he didn't have the courage to remove the cloth but, he was also curious about what was underneath that cloth. He was hoping it not to be his son like the soldier told him. And to know the truth, he bent down and moved his trembling hand toward the body. His heart was pounding like an engine and his forehead was covered with beads of sweats. Still, he gathered courage and removed the cloth.

When he looked at the body, his eyes were widened, he felt like his heart suddenly stopped beating. The body was indeed of his son. Oliver's body was partially burnt. One could see his face which was barely burnt, might be for the identification. There was a stab wound in his chest, which could have been the act of mercy by the killer for the child. But, Oliver's face was clearly implying that the child was very scared before his death.

It was very hard for Roy to look at his child's mutilated body. So, he averted his eyes from the corpse to look at the floor. He was in shock, he couldn't speak or act, he was on his knees in front of his son's dead body, continuously thinking about what could be the reason for his son's death.


	22. Joy & Sorrow (Part 5 - Mother)

" _A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take"_

 **[October 1906]**

Riza was admitted in the maternity ward because her water broke at around 1 AM at night. She was very fortunate that Matilda was always there to look after her. Matilda was already prepared for the baby more than Riza. She hired a horse carriage from a week for travel convenience to the hospital, she brought some necessary things for emergency and so on. So, as soon as Matilda got to know that the baby was coming, she immediately took Riza to the hospital.

Riza was admitted in a chamber that night which was the cleanest among all the chambers in that hospital, considering the hospital's poor maintenance. The chamber was on the second floor out of the three floors of the building, and there was a glass window in that room, without any curtains. There was a lady doctor, 2 nurses and Matilda in the chamber, helping Riza to deliver the baby.

It was 5:30 AM in the morning, the dim red light of the sun was slowly spreading throughout that small town's landscape. And with the rising sun, the baby came out of his mother's womb, to experience the new world. And like every human child after birth, it began crying within a few seconds. That was one cry which made Riza and Matilda very happy. There were tears of joy in both of their eyes when the doctor was taking the baby near his mother.

"Looks like your son wants to meet you very badly," She smiled while looking toward Riza.

She then put the baby gently near Riza. As soon as the baby felt his mother's warmth, he started to calm down slowly. Riza was looking at him like the most beautiful thing she ever saw in her life. Sometime later Matilda also came close to see the baby and she was instantly awed by his cuteness.

"Awwww…..what a cutie," she said. Then she looked at Riza who seemed very happy yet tired and asked, "How are you feeling, dear?"

"Little exhausted," Riza replied.

"Looks like my hard work paid off after all," Matilda smiled.

"Thank you, for everything you did for me," she looked at her son, "and for him."

Matilda was restricting herself to hold the baby, but she didn't want to miss the opportunity to soothe her old eyes from the view of a new life. She brought the single chair in that room and sat near Riza and Riza's son.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" She asked.

"Oliver," Riza replied at an instant with a smile on her face. It was as if she had already decided that name a long time ago, but she never told it to Matilda.

Matilda understood why she named her son, Oliver. She looked at Riza with a smile and said, "That's probably the most fitting name for your son."

Riza looked toward her son and said, "I am glad, you approved." And then suddenly, tears started sliding down her cheek. "He is so beautiful…the most beautiful thing I ever saw in my life," she cried.

"Why are you crying dear? Now you are a mother…how can you make him into a tough man, if you will cry like this?" Matilda persuaded.

Still, Riza couldn't stop her cry. It was without a doubt that she was overjoyed to see her baby, but at the same time, Oliver's birth brought back some broken dreams. During the initial days of her pregnancy, Riza thought of a dream where Roy would be sitting beside her and acting nervous to hold his baby for the first time, like a typical loving father. She dreamt that they would fight over the names they would give to their baby. But, all those dreams were shattered, because Roy didn't even know that he had a son.

Riza couldn't contain her emotion anymore and spoke the reason she was crying. "He reminds me of Roy," She cried.

Matilda couldn't see Riza think about her past when her future was sleeping right beside her. So, to bring a smile on her face, she joked. "Roy? Who is Roy? Never heard of that name," She paused for a moment to act as if she was thinking, and then said, "Maybe you should call your son's poop Roy. Whenever Oliver will poop, we can say, stinky Roy. Get rid of Roy. And then throw him in a dustbin."

Riza burst into laughter, and soon Matilda laughed with her. But, it lasted for a moment because Oliver started crying.

"Looks like your duty is calling," Matilda said, as both of them stopped laughing.

Riza was very happy that day. Becoming a mother was something new to her, and she was embracing the new responsibility with a smile.


	23. Joy & Sorrow (Part 6 - Child)

" _A mother's arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them"_

 **[Present day]**

Riza left straight for the Fuehrer's office with the paperwork as soon as Roy completed them. After getting the permission, she went inside the Fuehrer's chamber, where Fuehrer Grumman was eagerly waiting for her. Grumman was alone in the chamber, sitting on his chair. He was smiling when Riza entered inside. Riza ignored his expression, considering he was her grandfather and walked straight toward his desk. She then put the completed paperwork which she brought with her on his desk and saluted him.

"These are the state alchemists reallocation and state alchemists training program documents, Sir. General Mustang has initiated the programs, and he needs your permission to start it as soon as possible. We have already invited Alphonse Elric to give basic alchemy lessons to the state alchemist exam's aspirants in the military," Riza explained.

"Yes, after Scar's actions, the military is lacking some alchemist strength. But, what's done is done and we need to start again. I will sign these papers, and send it to General Mustang's office by this evening," Grumman assured.

"Thank you, Sir," Riza saluted and turned around to leave. However, she was called by the Fuehrer before she could take a single step, and that also not by her rank, but by her first name, "Riza".

Riza understood some personal question was incoming from her grandfather's mouth, but she was not in the position to dodge it, because Grumman was not only her grandfather but the Fuehrer of Amestris. So, she turned around to face him again, and she saw the same starry and excited look on his face that she saw on Roy's face when Roy asked her the personal question and got scolded some time ago.

"Have you told my grandson that his great grandpa is the Fuehrer?" Grumman asked excitedly and then waited for Riza's response with bared teeth.

Riza looked at her grandfather and sighed. "No"

The big smile on Grumman's face disappeared instantly. "I told you as well as Mustang that the fraternization law is not a problem," Grumman said.

"I am not concerned about the law. I just want to tell Oli the truth first, then I will marry Roy…I am going to tell Oli everything this evening. I hope he will understand," Riza chuckled.

Slowly the big grin on Grumman's face appeared again. "If you are planning to have a dinner after that, then let me know. I will gladly join you. However, if you want, I can also arrange dinner at my house," Grumman said excitedly.

"I will let you know. And please don't tell Roy that I told you, I will marry him. He will not pay attention to his work anymore," Riza smiled.

"Sure," Grumman assured with a smile.

Riza then left the Fuehrer's office and went straight to her office. When she entered the office, she saw none of her teammates were present there. She went inside Roy's chamber and found that, even that place was vacant. She enquired some other officers and soldiers to find the reason, and finally, she got to know that his whole team had gone to a crime scene.

Riza couldn't believe that the whole team went to a crime scene, leaving their job. She thought it to be an excuse to procrastinate their work, because of which she got angry. She went to the car parking, and took a car from there, then drove straight to the crime scene where everyone had gone.

After some time Riza reached the alley, outside which her teammates were standing, except Roy. There was no other soldier present there because Roy's team had sent off everyone. Falman, Breda, and Fuery were standing in a group and were discussing something, while Havoc was smoking his cigarette. But, there was something common among all of them, that they seemed to be mourning. Riza got very anxious to find out about the person who was murdered in that alley.

She parked the car a little before the entrance of that alley. Her teammates had also noticed her arrival, but they were already expecting her. All of Riza's anger had vanished, now there was only curiosity. She got out of the car and walked toward Havoc.

"Hey Hawkeye," Havoc greeted her with a worried face while she was coming.

Riza came closer and said, "When I found out all of you came here, I came as fast as possible. What happened? Why all of you left the office all of a sudden?"

"Something really terrible has happened," he took a sip from his cigarette and exhaled the smoke, "I think only you can help the Chief at a moment like this."

Riza's heart started beating fast, and she gulped. "What happened?" She stuttered.

"He is sitting in front of the dead body from last 30 minutes. We tried to speak to him, but he is not replying. Man… no child should suffer that fate," He took a sip from his cigarette and smoked out.

Riza went numb when she heard the word "child". Her mind started connecting the dots, the only question her brain was raising was "Roy is grieving before a child's body. Who is that child?" And she always came up with a single answer, "Oliver". But still, she was trying to convince that it couldn't be true.

At that moment, all noises from outside were inaudible to her. She was in a constant anxiety to know the truth. So, she slowly walked into the alley and saw a dead body at some distance, before which Roy was sitting like a statue. She could see that Roy was in agony because of which her heart started beating very fast. She gulped and took a step forward to know the truth, but she could feel her body was shivering. It was as if her body was telling her not to go there, however, her mind was anxious to know the truth.

She took small steps toward the dead body while shivering and on half-way, she could see the face of the dead boy. As soon as she saw the boy's face, she froze for a moment. Her eyes started watering and her chin started trembling. She felt hollow from inside, and her legs automatically took her closer to her son's corpse. She fell on her knees once she was near the body, and started crying out loud.

She held her son's burnt body and hugged him tightly, and started crying over him. She didn't care about the people who were watching her. When Roy heard her cries, he looked toward her, but he knew he couldn't do anything at that time. He stood up and walked outside the alley, leaving her alone with her dead son, screaming and shedding her tears over her dead child. The baby which brought a ray of joy into his mother's life 9 years ago in that broken hospital, had now left the world, leaving his mother in utter sorrow.


	24. Joy & Sorrow (Part 7 - Parents)

" _Sadness is a valuable treasure only discovered in people you love"_

…..

Riza had lots of plan that evening. That was probably going to be the most important day of her life, after all, she was going to reveal to Oliver that she was his mother. She was prepared to apologize to him for hiding the fact. She was ready with all the possible question that her son was going to ask her after the revelation, because she already knew those questions. It was not surprising considering that she always went with Roy to meet Oliver, and Oliver always thought her only as the private assistant cum bodyguard of his father. And because Riza couldn't keep her motherly affection away from Oliver, Oliver used to tell everything to her without knowing that he was talking with his mother.

Roy was also going to ask Riza for marriage, which she could have never denied, now that Oliver knew the truth, and also because everything in Amestris was very stable. Grumman was Riza's grandfather, who also wanted Riza to get married to Roy, so the fraternization law was not a problem for Roy and Riza. Initially, Riza's relationship with Grumman was not good, as he never visited Riza's mother who was also his own daughter, when she was very ill. Grumman didn't even know that Riza had become a mother until she joined as the bodyguard of Roy at Eastern Command. So, to put it simply, he was a terrible person, who was always concerned about his job, and had the strong desire to become Fuehrer. But, later his relationship with Riza started to heal with the passage of time and when he continuously asked for forgiveness.

Everyone was happy as if they were in a dream, until that very day which shook each of their worlds. Someone murdered the only child of Roy and Riza, brutally and left his corpse in an alley like an animal. Riza was holding the half-burnt body of her son in that alley and crying madly. She was not Major Riza Hawkeye at that moment, she was a mother who loved her child more than her own life. On the other side, Roy was sitting on a bench outside that alley, mourning his son's death, but he always avoided showing his weakness in the public.

Roy was in deep thought while sitting on the bench. He didn't even notice that Fuehrer Grumman was there. He only got to know it when Grumman placed his hands on Roy's shoulder from behind and called him by his name, "Roy".

When Roy turned and saw Grumman, he stood up and saluted him. But, the spark from his face had long disappeared.

"Good evening Fuehrer… sorry to disappoint you but, I don't think your granddaughter will marry me even after I become the Fuehrer," Roy said with a sad smile.

"We can't change what has happened, son… you should go to Riza because she needs you the most at this moment, only you can relate to her pain the most," Grumman advised.

But, the last of Grumman's sentence, agitated Roy.

"How can you say that I can relate to her pain Fuehrer? I wasn't even there when she gave birth and nor do you. Even after being a General in the military, did you know that she had a child? You are as guilty as I am, and unfortunately, we were the only family she had," Roy stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, then continued in a calm voice and narrowed eyes, "Do you really think I or you can ever relate to her pain? Our son was the only spark of happiness in her life…My son wanted to know about his mother. Neither had he got the answer, nor did she get the pleasure of the one word she was dying to listen."

Grumman was speechless, he couldn't make any eye contact with Roy at that moment. Meanwhile, Roy walked passed him, into the alley with Falman and Breda. He saw Riza was still holding her dead child. He didn't want to interrupt, but if he wouldn't do so then she would have never left Oliver's body. So, he walked to Riza and placed his hand over her shoulder. Now that he could see her up close, he could see the level of distress she was at that moment. He could even see the fragments of burnt skin were stuck to her hands and uniform.

"You should let him go, Major. The doctors need to examine the body," He persuaded.

Roy tried many times, but Riza didn't listen to him. Finally, Roy had to use force to separate her from her dead son. Riza was so weakened that she couldn't even resist properly. She tried to shout but, she was too much exhausted to do so. When Roy took Riza's hands away from Oliver's body, Breda and Falman took the body inside a medical van and went to the hospital along with the driver. When Roy left his grip from Riza, she sat on the ground in that alley with her head down, and shedding the tears whatever was left in her eyes. In that area, only Roy's team was present except Breda and Falman, along with Grumman and his two bodyguards. There was silence in that alley but, only for a few moments.

"Every time I saw him, I only desired that, one time…just one time, if I could hear the word, Mom from his mouth for me. But, I gave up that desire because of you, and because I wanted him to be safe. I wanted him to live on happily even if something had happened to us… It brought me enough happiness when once in a while I saw his face," Riza sobbed.

Riza was looking toward the ground, but everyone present there knew whom she was talking to. Roy tried to speak, but he was interrupted. Riza looked at Roy with her tired eyes, and said, "Roy, I thought when you will become the Fuehrer, we can make this world a better place, and our son would be a part of that… but, it doesn't matter now." Her chin was trembling and the tears had removed what little makeup she had worn.

Roy had never seen her like that. In fact, no one present there had ever thought of watching Major Riza Hawkeye like that.

"I know you will never forgive me, but it's difficult to watch you like that… be my strength…like you always do…please," Roy requested desperately.

He lent a hand toward Riza to help her stand up. She looked at Roy's agonized eyes, and accepted his help after a few moments, to get up. She didn't even bother to wipe the few drops of tear left in her eyes. Even the fragments of burnt skin from her son's dead body were still stuck on her uniform. Both of them then went to the Fuehrer, who was sitting in his car.

"Fuehrer, do we have the permission to leave?" Roy asked with a weakened voice.

Grumman didn't look at them, just because he wanted to hide his emotions behind the big glasses he was wearing. "You can leave General. Make sure Major Hawkeye is okay, and take care of yourself," he replied.

Roy and Riza saluted Grumman and got inside their car. Roy first helped Riza to get inside the car through the front door, and he took the driver's seat. Meanwhile, watching their commanding officer getting inside the car without any bodyguard, Havoc and Fuery rushed to the car.

"Let me and Fuery accompany you, Chief," Havoc said.

"Not today Jean. Today I just want to be with her," Roy requested.

Havoc didn't argue with his superior and let him go without security. After some time, Roy stopped the car before Riza's apartment.

"We are at your home, Major," He said.

Riza's mind was still occupied. She didn't listen to Roy at first. So, Roy put his hand on her shoulder, and called her, "Major."

Riza looked at Roy with surprise, and responded with a, "Yes!"

"We are at your home," said Roy.

Riza thanked Roy through his rank, and she got out of the car and moved toward the apartment's main door only to find out that Roy was following her.

"You don't need to come, Sir, I will be alright," She said.

He looked into her tired eyes, and responded, "But, I won't be…I am not strong like you, Major," He smiled sadly.

After reaching her flat, she opened the door and both entered inside. On watching his master, Hayate ran round and round around Riza's legs, but she ignored him and entered straight to her bedroom, and sat on her bed's edge. Roy followed her to the bedroom and sat beside her. Hayate didn't bother his master or Roy and went to his regular position at the dining hall.

"It's hard to be a tough man all the time," Roy said.

"It's alright to cry sometime," Riza empathized.

Roy slept on the bed placing his head on Riza's lap. He let his long-held tears out, dropping on Riza's lap.

"Looks like I am failing to protect the people I love," He sobbed.


	25. Legends (Part 1 - The Elrics)

**[Resembool]**

Resembool, the place where the philosopher of the west, Van Hohenheim, finally found love after wandering for centuries. It was the same place where the Elric brothers committed a taboo just to see their mother alive, because of which they had to pay a huge toll in the process. But, finally after many years, Ed got his limbs back and Al got his body back.

After the promised day, Ed left the military to live a peaceful life in Resembool, away from the hectic life in the military. When they returned home, the first thing which Al ate was an apple pie. And even after few months of his first apple pie after getting his body, Al never got bored of eating an apple pie with his brother. That evening also, the Elric brothers were sitting at the dining hall, enjoying their apple pie. Winry was busy fixing Den's (Pinako's pet dog) automail in the verandah, and Pinako was smoking her pipe, sitting outside the house.

After eating his piece of the pie, Al looked toward Ed, who was not finished with his pie, and asked, "Brother, I have been called by General Mustang to Amestris."

Ed stopped eating and curiously looked toward Al. "Why?" He asked.

"There are not much state alchemists left in the military. The military has gathered some people who have some very basic knowledge of alchemy but, they are far from the level of state alchemists. So, he has requested me to teach them for a month or so," he replied, and continued after a small pause, "General Mustang first went to some other alchemists like our teacher, but no one wanted anything to do with the military. He told me, he didn't want to involve us, but he had no other options."

Ed sighed after listening to Al, and said, "I am happy that you are comfortable in performing alchemy again," he smiled.

"I am sure General Mustang would have first asked you if it had been a year back," Al assured.

"It's all right Al. I will choose my limbs over alchemy on any day, "Ed smiled.

Al smiled back at his brother, but he knew that Ed was disappointed that he couldn't perform alchemy anymore.

Al then said, "You and Winry should also come with me, we can meet Elicia, Mrs. Hughes, General Mustang, Major Hawkeye-," Al kept on saying.

Winry was listening to Ed's and Al's conversation, and while Al kept on reciting various names, Winry interrupted, "Ed and I will definitely go. It has been a long time since I saw Elicia."

"I heard Ling and Mei are also coming. Is it true?" Ed asked.

"Yes, they are coming for the Amestris-Xing meeting," Al answered.

Suddenly, the new phone installed at Winry's home rang. Al stood up to receive the call, but he was stopped by Winry.

"Wait, let me pick it up," Winry said.

Winry stood up and went to the telephone to answer the call. She picked up the receiver, and said, "Hello". And with that, the conversation began. It went for about 5-10 minutes.

Ed and Al were looking at her while she was talking on the phone. Both the brothers could see the way she was reacting to the words she was hearing from the other side, she was giving a mix of surprised and sad look. After finishing the call, she hanged up the telephone receiver and walked toward Ed and Al with a sad face. She sat beside them, with each brother sitting on either side of her. She simply sat there, with her head down, and was thinking something. Watching Winry's worried face, both the brother got curious to find out the reason. So, Ed took the initial step and asked her politely, "What happened? Who was on the phone?"

Winry rose her head and looked toward Ed with a sad face, and replied, "It was Warrant Officer Fuery from General Mustang's team."

"What did he tell?" Al asked curiously.

"Did you guys know that General Mustang had a 9-year-old son?" Winry said.

The revelation that Roy had a son was breaking news for the Elric brothers. They reacted at the same time, in the same manner, and shouting the same word, "WHAT!" Their mouth was wide open and their eyes were widened. They were surprised by the fact that, even after working under Roy for years, they never knew that he had a son.

Watching the Elric brother's surprised face, Winry got her answer and said, "So, even you didn't know about that. Looks like he didn't tell you everything."

"I can't believe he had a son all this time and he never told us," Ed acted as if he still couldn't believe what Winry just said.

"Even his team was surprised when he introduced his son to them a few days back," Winry informed.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye must have known this. They knew each other from quite a long time after all," Ed said.

"She is a Major now, brother," Al interrupted.

"Yes, Ms. Hawkeye knew," Winry said.

"See, I told you," Ed bragged and resumed eating his pie with a grin on his face.

"She is the mother after all," Winry completed her sentence.

After hearing the complete information, Ed stopped the spoon going to his mouth, and looked at Winry with the open mouth which was primarily opened to eat pie. Even Al was acting the same way as his brother. After a moment, Ed started laughing out loud and put the pie filled spoon back on the plate.

"I knew they were not just superior and subordinate. Now I know how Ms. Hawkeye is so good at babysitting," Ed stopped laughing, and asked, "What is their son's name by the way?"

"Oliver," Winry replied.

"I wasn't interested to go to Central, but now it seems I must go. I am going to tell Oliver all the terrible things about his father," Ed said with a chuckle.

But Winry was sad instead of amused like the brothers. So, Al asked politely, "But, why are you sad?"

Winry narrowed her eyes and replied, "Oliver is dead."

The room which was echoing with laughter just a moment ago, went silent in an instant after Winry revealed the reason for her sadness.

Both the brothers were looking toward Winry, while she continued with her head down, "Oliver died yesterday…somebody killed him. I never met the kid, yet I can feel how Ms. Riza must be feeling right now," she wiped out the drops of tears appearing on her eyes.

Al asked, "So the call-"

"Was to attend the funeral," Winry answered before Al could complete his question.

The joy which was there just a few moments ago was replaced by sadness, and that also because of a boy who they never saw.


	26. Legends (Part 2 - Old Ishval)

Some true stories become so old that they fade into legends and with the passage of time, they just turn into myths. The story of Ishval is also like that. Why the Ishvalans consider alchemy a taboo? Why do we consider alchemy a disrespect toward all the creation of God? The answers to all these questions are at the ruins of Ishval City, and by Ishval, I do not mean the city which was destroyed by the Amestrian military in a civil war. The Ishval which was destroyed by the military is being reconstructed, but there existed another Ishval city, the true one, which was destroyed centuries ago, and at the heart of the city, there existed the temple of God Ishvala.

The city was very prosperous and was a global hub for trade. Traders from various countries used to come there for trade, in fact, many traders called Ishval the golden bird. But, there were not only rich people in the city, but there were also the poor who were living among them. Even though there was a difference in the lifestyle of the people, there was one thing common. They all worshipped God Ishvala. Everyone was allowed inside the temple and pray to the God of all creation. It's quite unbelievable when you think that how can such a prosperous city turned to ruin. Well, the reason was a single man and his desire.

It is believed that there was a man who came from some other land, and he brought the knowledge of alchemy with him. He selected only one individual and took that person with him to teach alchemy. After a few years, the Ishvalan man who went with the alchemist came back to the city. He started showing other people what he can do using alchemy, which fascinated other people. Now he started taking disciples and teach them alchemy, but even though everyone wanted to learn alchemy, it was not an easy task. Only a few people were able to learn alchemy. The new alchemists of Ishval then started using alchemy to fix broken houses during any natural disaster or fixing objects which got broken due to an accident. Alchemy was good until they fixed inanimate objects, but one day the master alchemists healed a dying old woman using alchemy. It's a taboo even among the alchemists to bring back someone from the dead or to perform alchemy on a human being. And the alchemist performed both. He did something which he was not supposed to do. And because of the sin he committed, the whole city had to suffer the wrath of God Ishvala.

After few years of the incident, God Ishvala appeared at Ishval in the form of a monster to punish all the Ishvalans who thought alchemy was a good thing. God Ishvala punished most of the alchemists and destroyed the temple. The God ordered the remaining Ishvalans to leave the city forever and never to perform alchemy again. From that day onward, alchemy was considered a taboo and no one ever practiced it. And each resident of the city left their home to build a new one at the place we are sitting right now.

 **[Ishval]**

Scar finished up telling the story to a group of Ishvalan children sitting under a roofless building, which meant to be a temporary school. The actual teacher was standing beside Scar, listening to the story very carefully like other children present there. Her name was Sheela. She was young, and she was given the role of a teacher by the elders of Ishval. After Scar finished up the story, she looked toward him and smiled.

"Thank you very much, Sir, for giving some of your time to the children," Sheela said.

"It's my pleasure," Scar replied.

Meanwhile, a girl stood up and asked, "Where is the Old Ishval, Sir?"

Before Scar could reply, someone interrupted, "It's just a few miles away from here. How about we go there tomorrow, you can all see the magnificent work done by our ancestors."

It was Scar's Master who interrupted. He was standing at the entrance of the building.

Even after making peace with Amestris and rebuilding Ishval, Scar's Master looked the same. His head was still like a shiny cue ball and he still maintained a big mustache.

After hearing Master's offer, all the children jumped with happiness. And Upon watching his master, Scar went to him. Both of them then left the children with Sheela and went toward Master's house. While they were walking, Master smiled, "It's good to see you getting along with people"

"I am just trying to contribute something like everyone else," Scar said.

"You are the hero of Ishval after all, you have already contributed the most," Master praised.

Scar didn't want to be praised throughout the way, so he paused for a moment and asked, "So why did you came all the way to meet me in person?"

"You must be knowing about the Ishvalan Freedom Front or IFF," Master said.

"Yes…I was once like them, taking revenge from the military that destroyed my home, and killed my people…I can't believe that now I am helping the same military to rebuild my home," Scar said with disbelief.

"Have you heard about a man named Thomas Maxwell?" Master asked.

"No," Scar replied.

"According to the military sources, he is the current leader of IFF. Till now, IFF has killed almost 20 Amestrian soldiers in cold blood, they are even influencing other Ishvalans to join them," Master sighed and continued, "we were once a peaceful community, but now we are turning into terrorists. We can't afford another war son, we have already lost too much. If we lose any more, then I am afraid we can't heal."

In the meantime, they had reached Master's house. There was no door on the entrance, although it was covered with a red curtain. First, the master entered inside then Scar followed him into the house. When Scar entered, he saw a skinny Amestrian man sitting on a chair, it was Richard.

Richard was the maths teacher at Military School, who helped to kidnap Oliver. The military was searching for him for the murder of Oliver, and neither Scar nor his master was aware that he was being searched for the murder of a child.


	27. Legends (Part 3 - IFF)

Richard Green taught at the Military School of Central Command for many years, but he got involved with Ishvalan militants after a year of the start of Ishvalan civil war. No one ever had the doubt of him being on the side of Ishvalan because he had an Amestrian lineage. Moreover, when he joined the Military School, he even hid the fact that he was married once. After the promised day, when the new Amestrian government tried to establish a good relationship with Ishval, some Ishvalans protested. They wanted freedom from Amestris, and become a separate country. In order to achieve their goal, the Ishvalan Freedom Front was formed. The people who were Ishvalan militant earlier, kept on doing the same thing, that was killing Amestrian soldiers, but now they did that under the banner of IFF. Besides them, there were other operatives of IFF who operated out of shadows. They led protests before military facilities and recruited other Ishvalans to join their cause.

Thomas Maxwell was the head of IFF, and kidnapping Oliver was his brainchild. When the IFF found out that Major General Roy Mustang had a son, and he was admitted in Military School, IFF made a plan to keep an eye on Oliver and know everything about him. They eventually kidnapped Oliver by luring that child on the promise of letting him meet his mother. But, killing him was something out of place. If they wanted Roy to do their bid, they could have done that by keeping Oliver as a hostage. Now that Oliver was dead, Roy would never do their bidding, in fact, he started using his full power to find the killer.

The prime suspect for Oliver's murder was most obviously Richard Green, who vanished from the school at the same time when Oliver was kidnapped. The military was searching for him, and he was in Ishval to meet Scar.

When Scar entered into his Master's house, he saw Richard sitting on a chair, but he was unaware of Richard's identity. Upon watching Scar, Richard stood up.

"This is Richard… he works for Thomas Maxwell," Master introduced Richard to Scar.

"What is he doing here?" Scar asked.

"He wanted to talk to you," Master replied.

Scar didn't ask any more question to his Master, and sighed. He then looked at Richard and asked, "Why do you want to talk with me?"

"As you know, we fight for Ishval's freedom, the freedom which is the right of every Ishvalan," Richard said.

Scar glared at Richard and spoke fiercely, "From when an Amestrian is fighting for the freedom of Ishval?"

Richard narrowed his eyes and replied, "Even though I am an Amestrian, the only family I ever had was my wife and my daughter. My wife was an Ishvalan, and my daughter was the one responsible for starting the war…or I can say the Amestrian soldier who killed her started the war."

Scar and his master were confused for a moment. They now started listening to his reasons more seriously, while Richard continued, "What terrible thing did a 6-year-old do, due to which the soldier had to shoot her? Eventually, my wife died at the hands of those bastards…I was in Central city at that time when all this happened. I tried to come to Ishval, but all the routes to Ishval were blocked for civilians…I couldn't even see their dead bodies." Tears started forming in his eyes while he shared his painful story, "Yes, I might look like an Amestrian, but I will always remain an Ishvalan by heart. When I die, I want to get buried in this land…finally reuniting with my family."

Tears from his eyes were sliding through his cheeks, falling on the ground. Scar wanted to tell Richard the truth that it was a shapeshifting homunculus who killed his daughter and not a soldier, but no one was ever going to believe in something like that. So, Scar didn't tell Richard the unjustifiable truth, and asked, "So, whatever you are doing is just plain revenge then?"

Richard quickly wiped his tears, rose his head and replied in an agitated voice, "No, we don't want to kill anyone. We are just trying to save this country from those animals. Why should we keep any relation with Amestris? What good have they ever done for Ishval?"

"The new Fuehrer is not like the previous one, he is helping to rebuild Ishval," Master tried to persuade Richard.

"But, who destroyed it in the first place?" Richard glared at Master.

Master and Scar had no answer for that. They lowered their head, meanwhile, Richard calmed down and said, "Scar, if you join our purpose, then no one can stop us from achieving freedom. People see you as a hero, if you tell them that you will get absolute freedom for them, then they will rally behind you to achieve the purpose. There will be no more war, no more suffering."

After telling that, Richard walked toward the door. Master and Scar speechlessly were looking at him leaving the house. Before leaving, he looked at Scar and said, "Scar, if you really value Ishval so much, then you should wear your real name with pride."

Richard left after saying that. His job at Ishval was complete.

The first step of IFF's plan was to weaken the Amestrian military from the inside, which they did by kidnapping the son of one of the five Generals of Amestris. Their second step was to strengthen the Ishvalans by taking the help of the Ishvalan hero, who could unite every Ishvalan. Their first step was executed properly, but the death of the hostage was something unusual. On the other side, the second step was executed properly by Richard. But, in the worst case, IFF operatives were also adding other Ishvalans to IFF by themselves in Ishval.


	28. Legends (Part 4 - Big John)

**[Wellesley, a small city in West region]**

The sun was taking its leave from the far eastern city of Ishval to the western city of Wellesley. A short man, technically a dwarf, was standing on the edge of the cliff present at the outskirt of the city, which was filled with greenery. He was wearing a brown leather pant and a pair of leather boots, with a hat on the top of his head, covering the short black hairs. He looked kind of intimidating, not because of his height, but because of his dense black mustache and beard. He was getting a view of the city from the cliff when he heard some footsteps approaching him, and with the footsteps, there was some dragging noise. He turned around and saw a woman was coming while dragging an unconscious military man by grabbing the back of his collar. Her untied brown shoulder length hairs were floating because of the mild wind, and her eyes were matching the green vegetation in the surrounding.

Her name was Major Cecilia Ingolfson aka "The Splinter Alchemist". She was the only state alchemist who didn't have to go to Ishval during the civil war. She was rarely involved in any major activities because of which she was still in the rank of Major even though she was a year older than Roy.

She leaned the military personnel on a tree's trunk and stood up. She looked at the dwarf and asked, "What are you going to do with him?"

"I need to talk with him," the dwarf replied with a grin.

"I am going then," Cecilia said with a tired voice.

"Don't you have any responsibility toward your military friends? What if I kill him?" The dwarf asked with a creepy smile.

"Do whatever you want. I haven't eaten from the morning, I am going to get some food," Cecilia replied and turned around. Then she left the place, leaving the military man alone with the dwarf.

Sometime later, the military personnel gained consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he started looking here and there. He was panicked on finding himself in a forest, tied against a tree trunk, but he couldn't see the cliff where he was initially left by Cecilia. Suddenly he heard a deep voice, "Finally, you are awake Lieutenant Donovan."

He looked in front of him and saw a blurred image of a big man, standing at a distance. He closed his eyes and opened them after a small moment, and saw the big man standing a bit closer to him. The man was more than 7 feet tall and had a muscular build up. He was wearing the same attire as the dwarf and had the same kind of beard like the dwarf.

"Who are you? And how do you know me?" Donovan stuttered.

"You can call me Big John, and how do I know you, doesn't matter. The only thing which matters right now is your wife and daughter," John replied and moved aside to let Donovan see his wife and daughter being held by two men with rifles. Donovan's wife and daughter were on their knees, their hands were tied behind their back, and their mouth was covered with a piece of cloth so that they couldn't speak. They were sweating and terrified while the two men were standing beside them pointing their rifles at them.

Donovan was terrified of finding his family at the middle of the forest. Meanwhile, John continued, "Doesn't it feel good to see your family after so many days?" He grinned.

Donovan was sweating out of fear. He even started sobbing, when he saw his family crying in front of him, with guns pointed at them. "What do you want from me?" Donovan sobbed.

"First of all stop whining," John said, and as soon as he said that, the two men who were pointing rifles on Donovan's family moved away. Watching that, Donovan took and deep breathe and calmed down.

After Donovan was calmed, John asked, "Are you leading the team which is reconstructing Ishval city?"

"Yes," replied Donovan.

"Can you tell me why the military is restoring the first Ishval city? Wasn't it a forbidden place according to the Ishvalans?" John asked.

"The Ishvalans approached on their own to the Amestris military to help them restore the old city. Just like they have now accepted alchemy, the legend behind the destruction of the first Ishval is now just a story to them. They particularly asked us to help them restore the temple of God Ishvala," Donovan answered.

"STORIES?" John shouted out of surprise by widening his eyes, and then he started laughing out loud.

John walked closer to Donovan while laughing, and he untied Donovan.

"Go, meet your family," John said after untying Donovan.

As soon as John permitted Donovan to meet his family, Donovan quickly stood up and ran toward his family. John was watching Donovan running toward his family, and both of them had a grin on their face. Donovan's grin was clearly out of happiness of finally meeting his family, but John's grin was evil. When Donovan was just a few inches away from embracing his family, he realized all the things he was watching a few moments ago including his family was just an illusion. The place was the same place where Cecilia left Donovan, and the place where Donovan saw his family, was actually beyond the cliff's edge. When Donovan fell from the cliff, John started laughing out loud.

"Sorry, Lieutenant…I told her…to stop…that I might kill you…but she didn't…well…it was fun to… watch you fall," John said while laughing.

After some moment, Big John stopped laughing and went to the edge of the cliff and looked down. He could clearly see Donovan, 30 feet down the edge of the cliff, lying on a rock, bleeding heavily from his head, and he was breathing like a fish out of water taking its last breath. Donovan could also see Big John looking down at him. Now that John's illusion was not there, Donovan could see what Big John really looked like, which was a dwarf.

"Sorry I can't save you right now, my feet are hurting after standing for such a long time. You should thank me for letting you see your family one last time. Bye," John grinned and left the place, leaving Donovan behind to die on that rock.


	29. Legends (Part 5 - The Lieutenant)

**[Drachma]**

Danny and Maria had reached Drachma with the help of two soldiers from Fort Briggs. Then they successfully met Boris, but they never expected a huge pet bear along with him. After some time of the interaction, the guides from Fort Briggs, Steve and Ronny went back. Maria and Danny tagged along with Boris to go to Othon, the capital of Drachma, where they were expected to find some answers in less than a month and report back to Fort Briggs.

Othon was approximately 800 miles from the place where they were currently in. A train was the only mode of transportation to reach Othon from that place. So, they went to the nearest railway station which was a couple of miles away.

The station was almost vacant because it was mainly used for transporting goods. It was maintained by the Drachmann military, so only a few Drachmann soldiers were present there. Fortunately for the Amestrian group, there was a train at the station, and some goods were being loaded on the train. Boris had a plan to board the train, so he shared the plan with Maria and Danny. And soon after everyone understood the plan properly, the execution started without wasting any time.

Boris, Maria, and Danny were pulling Toby on a sledge, while Toby was lying on it as if he was dosed. When they reached the station's front gate, the soldiers present their noticed them and asked them to stop. Boris went forward to talk with the soldiers.

"Good evening Sir," Boris smiled looking at the two soldiers standing in front of him.

"Who are you?" One soldier asked.

"I am a hunter," Boris looked toward Maria and Danny who were standing behind him, holding the ropes of the sledge, "and these are my friends," he said, and continued, "As you can see, we have hunted a big bear."

"So?" The second soldier glared.

"That is no normal bear, Sir. That is a adult male brown bear, and it's alive. Some people will pay lots of money to have him," Boris persuaded.

"We don't care. Just go somewhere else with your bear,"The second soldier growled.

Meanwhile, they were interrupted by someone.

"What is going on?"

Everyone looked toward the man who interrupted the conversation and was slowly walking toward the scene. It was a fat Drachmann soldier, but of higher rank. When the two soldiers saw him, they stood in attention stance and saluted him. Judging by the uniform of the man he was clearly of Lieutenant Rank.

"Nothing much Sir, this man was getting into the station, "The first soldier replied.

The Lieutenant looked at Boris with curiosity, but before he could ask, Boris spoke.

"Good evening Sir. I am a hunter and these are my friends, we have caught a wild male brown bear. As you know Sir, how much demand is there for this particular animal, so we were hoping if you can allow us to board the train, we will be grateful to you," Boris said calmly.

Lieutenant walked close to see the bear. He was watching the bear when he noticed the bear was breathing. He was startled and moved some step back out of fear. He then quickly pulled out his gun and pointed it at the bear. Watching the Lieutenant's reaction, the other soldiers pointed their rifle at the bear. But, before they could fire, Boris stopped them by coming in front of the Lieutenant.

"Wait, wait. We have dosed him pretty heavily, he won't wake up for a whole day," Boris persuaded.

"So what?" Lieutenant said while breathing heavily.

"Calm down Sir, alive bears are three times costlier than dead ones," Boris continued convincing him, "And, if you can let us board the train, then I can give you something that will make you happy," He said in a low voice such that only the Lieutenant can hear it.

Upon hearing that, the Lieutenant calmed down and put his gun back. Boris then bribed the Lieutenant with two gold coins and got permission to board the train. There was a vacant wagon, where they were allowed to enter.

After some time, the train left the station. Soon after that, Toby sat up and yawned.

"Thank you, Toby, you are very good as always," Boris patted Toby on his back, and Toby licked him out of happiness. Maria and Danny were staring the bear and human duo, which was very unusual.

"Are you really going to take him to the capital city?" Maria asked.

"Don't worry, we have been to that place multiple times, and no one has ever detected Toby," Boris answered calmly.

"Do you hide him somewhere?" Danny asked curiously.

"I don't need to," Boris replied and elaborated, "There is a forest at the outskirt of the city, where all the waste of the city is dumped. People generally don't go to that place. So, it is easy for Toby to stay there while I finish my work in the city."

"I see," Danny acknowledged.

"How much will it take us to reach Othon?" Maria asked.

"We should reach there by tomorrow night," Boris answered.

Upon hearing that, Danny yawned and said, "We have lots of time then. I am going to sleep."

After a long day, it was very obvious that Maria and Danny were tired. So, Danny lied on the floor and went to sleep. But, after some time, he felt some fluid dripping on his face, because of which he opened his eyes and found Toby was sniffing him. Watching such a big creature right in front of his face, where he could clearly see the canines, he panicked and screamed like a girl. He then quickly slid back, to the corner of the wagon out of fear.

Because of his scream, Boris and Maria woke up and started looking at him curiously.


	30. Legends (Part 6 - The Train)

Danny, Maria and their guide Boris with his pet bear Toby boarded a train near the Drachmann border at around 8 in the evening, and now they were far away from the place where they boarded. Almost 24 hours had passed, but Othon was still approximately a 100 miles more. Everyone was sitting quietly, gazing the pitch black sky through the opening at the top of the door while the train was running on the tracks. Toby on the other hand, was in slumber. But then suddenly, the train started slowing down without blowing the horn. Gradually, the speed of the train reduced to zero and it stopped with a squeaking.

Out of curiosity, Boris stood up and looked through the opening at the top of the closed door.

"Why did the train stop?" Maria asked curiously.

Boris could see that the train had stopped in between some wilderness. In that pitch black night, he could only see the dark images of the big pine trees shaking due to the strong wind blowing outside. After listening to Maria's question, he replied, "I don't know. It has stopped at some forest."

Boris again peeked out to observe the situation. Soon one person emerged from the wilderness and got inside a wagon. After that, the train started moving again. Boris couldn't understand the situation on why a train would pick up a person from a forest. He turned around and informed everything to Maria and Danny about the weird event. Everyone was confused and trying to make theories on what could have happened.

While they were discussing among themselves, the train again started slowing down after 1 hour of the first stop. This time, all of them gazed through the opening and saw that the train had again stopped in between some wilderness. And this time also, a person came out of the wilderness and entered inside the wagon next to the wagon where the first person entered. The same incident happened again after some time when the train stopped at a forest and someone entered in a wagon next to the wagon where the previous person entered.

Boris and others understood the pattern that after a certain time interval, the train was stopping and somebody was getting inside a wagon next to the wagon where the previous person entered. After six hours since the first person who boarded the first wagon, the next person was supposed to enter the fifth wagon, and Boris and other were inside the sixth wagon. As expected, the train stopped at an isolated place and a big bulky man wearing shredded clothes entered inside the fifth wagon. And after that man boarded, the train again started moving.

"Something doesn't seem right. I think after some time, someone is going to enter this wagon," Boris shared his concern.

Maria and Danny gulped out of fear when they heard Boris because they were also expecting the same thing.

"Why is only a single person getting into each wagon?" Danny asked with a tensed face.

"I am as clueless as you are," Boris replied.

"I have a bad feeling…we should get out of this train before it stops the next time," Maria advised with a frightened face.

"I think you are right, even I have a bad feeling about this train," Boris said.

Danny's eyes widened upon listening to Boris' reply. Meanwhile, Boris explained the escape plan, "As the train is at full speed, you two shouldn't jump. Go to the roof of this wagon and walk to the last wagon, and when the train will stop next time, just get off this train."

Boris' plan was only for Maria and Danny, so Maria raised her eyebrows and asked, "What about you?"

Boris looked toward Toby, who was sleeping quietly and sighed. "I can't leave my friend," he said.

"You are staying with Toby?" Danny exclaimed.

Boris looked at Danny, and replied very calmly, "Yes."

"But, what if something happens to you?" Maria showed her concern.

"It was my plan to board this train, it was my plan to bring along Toby. So I should be the one to face the consequences. Also, it will be really bad if you two get caught," Boris explained.

"We thought the man General Armstrong believed in, would be smart," Maria smiled while teasing.

Meanwhile, Danny got out of the door and started climbing toward the roof. Maria also got near the door and began climbing.

"She has the tendency to trust stupid and broken people…do you know why?" Boris said while Maria was climbing.

Soon after listening to Boris' question, Maria stopped climbing and looked toward Boris, and asked, "Why?"

"Because they are loyal," Boris grinned

Maria was amazed the way he spoke about General Armstrong as if he knew her very well. She then continued climbing and reached the roof.

Maria and Danny then started walking on the roof toward the back of the train while Boris stayed in the wagon waiting for the mystery to uncover. And as expected, after some time the train started slowing down and stopped. Boris and Toby were sitting, and looking toward the opened door waiting for some mystery person to show up from the wilderness.

They waited for 10 minutes, but neither anyone came nor the train started. Boris decided to go out to have a look and Toby followed him. Both of them got off the train and stepped on the land covered in snow. Because of the absence of the moon, the snow covering the area and light snowflakes falling from the sky were unable to show their beauty. Boris and Toby walked further ahead, but due to the darkness, Boris was unable to see anything clearly. He was fully relying on Toby's night vision. Suddenly, the train started moving and no one came out of the wilderness to board the train, which Boris wasn't expecting. As the train was gone, Boris had no option but to proceed toward the forest in front of him with Toby.


	31. Legends (Part 7 - The Forest)

Boris and Toby were all alone in the snowy wilderness in that pitch black night after the train left. They had only one option left which was to search for a shelter, so they went forward, into the pine forest. To walk through the darkness, Boris broke a branch from a tree and made a torch out of it. He used a lighter to light up the torch he made and went into the forest. After walking for a few minutes, Boris heard some footsteps. He and Toby got ready for an attack, but as the footsteps were closing in, they heard a familiar voice.

"HEY BORIS, ITS US…KEEP YOUR BEAR IN CONTROL," Danny shouted.

Danny and Maria were in the darkness without any light source. So, when they saw a torch in the forest, they went closer to find the answer, and fortunately, it was Boris.

After notifying Boris, they came closer.

"We saw the torch and we came," Danny informed.

"What happened?" Maria asked curiously.

"I don't know, the train stopped as we expected, but this time no one entered the wagon," Boris replied.

"That was one of the weirdest and horrifying experiences in my life," Maria grinned out of disbelief.

"Your experience might get weirder if we don't find a shelter, "Boris joked.

"Right," Maria responded.

All of them then walked more into the forest with the help of the torch and Toby's sense of smell. The torch was only able to enlighten a small area, so it was difficult for them to see if anyone or anything was approaching them. In order to be safe, they were walking very close to each other. Furthermore, they had a huge bear walking with them who can smell any danger approaching.

Suddenly, Toby stopped walking, and watching him, Boris and the team stopped instantly. Toby started baring his teeth while looking in front of him. Watching Toby's action, Boris quickly pulled out his knife whereas Maria and Danny pulled out their guns.

Everyone was on guard, and they were looking in the same direction as Toby. Maria and Danny were looking scared and were breathing heavily before the mystery could unveil. And finally, they saw a pair of glowing eyes. But, the height at which the eyes were was high, which meant it was definitely a big animal. Maria and Danny gulped out of fear after watching those eyes.

The creature then took a step forward, but as soon as it did that Toby stood up in his hind legs and roared vigorously. Watching a huge bear threatening was clearly a death call for any creature approaching. So, the creature turned around and ran away from that place.

After the beast left, everyone took a sigh of relief. Then after some time, they resumed their search for a shelter, and finally, they found a broken house, situated at the edge of the forest. All of them entered inside the house. The ceiling of that house had lots of holes from which snowflakes were entering, and the floor was covered with broken woods.

"There is still time to sunrise, it will be better if we take some rest," Boris advised.

"I agree," Danny quickly nodded without any sign of hesitation.

Maria and Danny put their sleeping bags beside each other before a wall while Boris took the place near the door along with Toby sitting close to him. Boris used Toby's body as a pillow to rest his head.

While everyone was relaxed, Maria asked, "Boris, would you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Depends on your question," Boris answered.

"How well do you know General Armstrong?" Maria questioned.

"Quite well I guess," Boris smiled, and continued, "I met her 15 years ago, so I can tell you the kind of person she was back then. Now, she only sends messages through her subordinates, and every time I meet one of her subordinates, I tell them that it would be great if once in a while she could come herself to meet me, but convincing that woman is very difficult."

"Did you ever try to hit on her?" Danny enquired.

Boris started laughing and said, "Well…you see…I don't think I am the only one who tried to impress her. There must have been many men who would have asked her for marriage."

"No buddy…it seems you are the only one who has the guts to do it," Danny said.

"Has she become that scary?" Boris asked curiously.

"You can't imagine," Danny replied while shaking his head slowly out of disbelief.

"Why don't you tell us about her? It would be great if you can tell us how she was in the past," Maria requested.

Boris looked toward Maria and smiled. "Alright," Boris said.

Boris then sat upright looking toward Maria and Danny. He then started the story, "15 years back, your General Armstrong was not a commanding officer at Fort Briggs, and she had the rank of a Warrant Officer. Like you, she was also sent here for a spy mission along with two other Amestrian soldiers named, Second Lieutenant Colada and Warrant Officer Tizona, two men who were very experienced in spy missions-"


	32. Legends (Part 8 - Colada)

**[Year 1900, Drachma]**

Some serious activities in the Drachma Amestris borders were in motion. The Amestrian military had figured out that the smuggling of weapons into the Amestrian land from Drachma had increased. Meanwhile, some tension was going on between the people of Ishval and the Amestrian military. The Ishvalans were protesting that the government is not treating them like other Amestrian citizens. It was a peaceful protest, but for some reasons, the Drachmann were smuggling weapons to Ishval.

1900 was still a year early to the start of the infamous Ishvalan civil war, and the Drachmann government was already anticipating it, at least that's what the Amestrian government was thinking. In order to get the answers, the Central Command ordered Fort Briggs to initiate a spy mission on the land of Drachma. Many small groups were formed and sent to various parts of Drachma, and among one of those groups was the group of Warrant Officer Olivier Mira Armstrong, the eldest child of the Armstrong family, who were among one of the aristocrats of Central City. It was very unusual for a rich girl to join the military and risk her life, but her love for the country was stronger than the life of comfort.

Olivier's team had two other officers beside her, who were very experienced in stealth missions. The leader of the team was Second Lieutenant Colada, who was a tall Amestrian born man in his mid-thirties. The other teammate was Warrant Officer Tizona, who was unlike Olivier, had experience working with Colada. Tizona was also an Amestrian born man and was almost the same age as of Colada, but he was not as tall as the 6.5 feet Lieutenant Colada. Furthermore, Tizona liked to keep a bushy beard unlike his superior who liked the trimmed look.

The group was in Drachma from few days, and because of a mistake caused by Olivier, they were detected by the military and were being chased. They were running from a group of Drachmann soldiers and military dogs in a forest covered with pines and faint snow. The dogs were not far behind, and fortunately, they came across a narrow water channel which could help them to evade the dogs.

While they were running, they saw a pile of broken trees in front of them. At that moment, Tizona came up with an idea, so he spoke while he was panting, "Sir, I think we should wait for the three dogs and shoot them once they reach us. It will be easier to evade humans than dogs."

Colada understood his plan, and said, "Alright, let's hide there," he pointed toward the pile of broken trees, and continued, "and stay separated, but not far away so that we have a better chance to fight and escape."

Tizona and Olivier acknowledged his orders by saying, "Roger that".

They scattered closely and hid behind the fallen trees. Olivier didn't know that the place which she chose to hide was already occupied by a person. She was silently sitting at her position when she heard someone from the back.

"Are you hiding from the military?"

She was startled and looked back instantly, pointing her gun. She saw a man standing there. It was 25-year-old Boris, wearing a brown winter outfit.

"Who are you?" Olivier panted, but she wasn't shaking while holding the gun. Boris could see one of her widened blue eyes because the other one was hiding behind her blonde bang. And in that cold weather, he could see the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. And after listening to the dog barks coming from a distance, he was clear that she was being chased.

In order to make Olivier less hostile, he raised both his hands and said, "Hey…hey…stop pointing that gun to me, lady."

In the meantime, Colada and Tizona got behind Boris and pointed their handgun at Boris. Boris was surrounded by guns pointing at his face, but he was still calm.

"Tell us who you are?" Colada asked.

Meanwhile, they heard the dog barks, and it was closer than the previous barks.

"I think I can introduce myself later. At this moment you need to hide somewhere, and I can help you," Boris said with his hands still raised.

"Why should we trust you?" Colada questioned.

Boris looked at Colada and raised his eyebrows out of disbelief. "Do you seriously want to get caught by the military?" He said.

Boris' rhetoric question was quite convincing, so everyone put their guns back, and Boris put down his hands. Soon after that, Boris quickly pulled out a small bottle from his coat pocket and sprinkled the liquid inside it on everyone's clothes.

"What are you doing?" Olivier asked while looking down at her clothes with creased eyebrows.

"It's bear urine, it will help you evade the dogs," Boris replied.

Everyone was astonished by the reply, and they reacted the same way while looking at Boris with widened eyes. "What!" They exclaimed.

Boris ignored their reaction and ordered, "Now follow me."

The team had no option but to follow Boris. After running for a while, they were finally convinced that the dogs were no more chasing them. And in the meantime they reached an abandoned house at the outskirts of the forest. The house was mostly made of wooden planks. When they entered inside, the house was covered with dust and broken articles.

While getting inside, Colada had a quick look of the internal surrounding and asked, "Are you sure those dogs won't find us here?"

"They will never come to a bear's area man," Boris assured.

"Are you some kind of fugitive?" Tizona asked.

Boris looked at Tizona and grinned. "Nope, I just hate this government, and I will help anyone who stands against this government," he replied.

After sometime, everyone settled down and the sun was about to set. Because it was a cold place, they needed some firewood to spend the night. So, Colada took the lead and said, "Team, we will be staying here tonight. And for that, we will be needing some woods."

"I will get some woods then," Boris said.

Colada had a bad feeling about the fact that after bringing them to an abandoned house, Boris was again offering his help. Moreover, Boris never introduced himself to them. So, in order to play safe, he acted along and said, "Sure. But, before you go, aren't you going to tell us by what name shall we call you?"

"You can call me Boris, and this is not my house," Boris answered and smiled.

"Yeah, I knew that. You must be traveling places to collect bear piss," Tizona joked.

Boris countered by saying, "That bear piss saved your life today Mr-"

"You can call me Mr. Tizona," Tizona replied. Then he pointed toward Colada and said, "That's Mr. Colada." Soon after that he pointed toward Olivier and continued, "And this beautiful lady is Ms. Armstrong."

"Nice to make acquaintances," Boris smiled and continued, "Shall I go to collect woods then?"

To have some precautions, Colada looked at Olivier and said, "Hey Armstrong, why don't you go with Boris?"

Boris looked at Olivier, and he started smiling internally for the fact that a beautiful woman was going to give him some company alone.

"Sure Sir," Olivier replied.

She walked passed Boris and got out of the door. "Let's go," she said.

Boris turned around and got out of the door. Both of them then walked toward the pine forest to collect some wood. Meanwhile, in the house, Colada shared his thoughts with his subordinate.

"I have a feeling that we are in a trap," he said.

"Same," Tizona supported.

"What do you think we should do?" Colada asked.

"I am on board with whatever plan you have," Tizona replied with a smile, and Colada smiled along, knowing the fact that his subordinate had already anticipated his move.


	33. Legends (Part 9 - Baba Yaga)

The team of three Amestrian soldiers, which included Warrant Officer Olivier Mira Armstrong, Warrant Officer Tizona, and Second Lieutenant Colada, were in Drachma for a spy mission to find the reason for the heavy smuggling of weapons to Ishval. Due to some mistake, they were detected by the military and were being chased, but fortunately, they encountered Boris, who helped them evade the military dogs and led them to a shelter. Because it was already evening, they decided to stay in an abandoned house at the outskirt of the forest, and for that, they needed some firewood.

Boris offered his help again to gather some woods, but Colada was suspicious of him. So, Colada asked Olivier to go with Boris. And instead of staying in the house which felt like a trap to him, Colada asked Tizona to join him in shadowing Boris.

Boris and Olivier were unaware that they were being followed. They were walking through the pine without talking for a while, but then Boris initiated the conversation by asking a question which was definitely not the way one approaches a young beautiful woman. "Are you married, Ms. Armstrong?" He asked while looking toward Olivier curiously.

"No, and for your information, I am not interested in you, so you better not start something which might make me angry," Olivier replied bluntly.

"Understood," Boris quickly turned away his head, and looked forward.

Boris had always the difficulty with women who didn't ask for money to spend some time. To be specific, he had never been in a relationship. The only women in his life were either courtesans or women who worked with him, none of whom ever triggered the emotions of his heart. So, whenever he saw any women where he thought of starting a simple relation bonded by emotions, he tried but failed for one or other reasons.

After getting rejected in the first few seconds of approaching, Boris decided to keep quiet. Even after reaching the area to collect fire woods, Boris didn't speak a word. Olivier didn't expect Boris to be so gentlemanly, so out of respect, she decided to break the silence. While both of them were picking woods just a few feet away from each other, Olivier asked, "You told us you hate the government, why is that?"

"I will tell you once you start trusting me," Boris replied.

Oliver stopped collecting woods and stood up straight. She looked at Boris, who was still picking woods and said, "You should know that it's foolish to trust someone whom you met just a few moments ago."

"That's correct. And that's why trust is a two-way road. If you don't trust me then I can't trust you," Boris replied calmly while picking the woods.

Olivier understood that he wasn't comfortable in exposing his life yet. So, she resumed her job. While she was picking woods, she saw some claw marks on the trunk of a thick pine tree.

"Hey Boris, can you come over here and tell what kind of animal did this?" Olivier called while looking at the marks curiously.

Boris stopped picking up woods and went to see the claw marks. There was a long claw mark on the tree done with two claws by some animal. The claw marks were very deep inside the tree bark at 5 feet height from the ground, and the bark area surrounding the claw mark was not destroyed. It was as if the marks were carved with two knives pushed deep inside the bark. Boris recognized the mark, because of which beads of sweat started forming on his forehead in that cold weather and he gulped out of fear. He quickly looked at Olivier with his scared eyes and asked, "Are you done collecting woods?"

"Yes," said Olivier.

"Let's go from here then," Boris spoke anxiously and started walking fast with all the woods he collected. Olivier didn't understand, but she walked along. She had to walk fast in order to match up with his speed.

To understand the context properly, she asked while walking, "What happened? Were the claw marks of some dangerous wild animal?"

Right at that moment, they heard the cracking of a dry stem from the back. Both of them stopped and looked back to find the reason. Olivier dropped her woods and pulled out her gun and pointed in the direction from where the sound came. Boris also dropped his woods and pulled out his knife. Within a few moments, Colada and Tizona stepped out of their hidings.

Olivier looked toward her superior with furrowed brows. "Sir?" She said.

Colada and Tizona couldn't shadow Boris anymore, so Colada made an excuse. "We thought of helping you," Colada responded.

Boris was clearly not interested in any explanation at that moment. So, he ignored whatever Colada said and requested anxiously, "Let's get to the house quickly."

Boris then quickly picked up his woods and started walking fast toward the house. But, he was stopped by Colada. "Stop right there," Colada said with authority.

Boris turned around and saw Colada was pointing his gun at him.

"I am having a very hard time in trusting you Boris, why don't you tell us what is your real intention? Why did you help us and why did you take us to that house?" Colada asked.

"It's not safe out here, please let's go to the house first," Boris requested anxiously.

"No one is going anywhere until you tell us the truth. And I promise you, if you take one more step I will definitely blow your brains," Colada glared at Boris.

"Why it isn't safe here?" Tizona asked curiously.

"He has been acting weird after we saw that claw marks on a tree. I think those marks were made by some bear," Olivier informed.

"Is this how you collect bear urine, Boris? By running from them?" Tizona teased.

Sun was on the horizon, and Boris was getting restless. He took a deep breath and exhaled to calm down before giving an explanation.

"Listen…those claw marks were not of some bear. That was something you would never want to face… nobody knows what it is or what all it can do, but it is said that you should never invade its territory, and unfortunately, we are in its territory…We call it **Baba Yaga** ," Boris explained.

Instead of creating an impact, Boris' statement was treated as a joke and everyone burst into laughter.

Tizona commented while laughing, "Man, it looks like you read fairy tales very seriously."

But then suddenly they heard a loud roar echoing in the forest, and everyone instantly stopped laughing. They started looking here and there with their handgun in their hand.

"What was that?" Tizona asked anxiously.

Colada said, "That must be a bear"

Boris got annoyed by their reaction. He looked at them with lowered eyebrows and yelled, "Are you people fucking idiots? Even if that's a bear, are you going to wait here until it shows up and attacks you?"

"Even if it's your imaginary friend Baba Yaga, we are not going anywhere," Colada replied calmly.

The sun was no more on the horizon, now it was moon's time to shine in the sky with stars. As soon as the forest got shrouded in the blanket of darkness with the moon as the only source of light, everyone heard some footsteps crushing the dry branches. They could completely comprehend that something was slowly approaching them. Everyone was looking at the direction from where the noise of cracking branches was coming. In a few moments, the beast was visible. It was a chimera with the head of a wolf and spiral horns like a sheep. Its body was covered with wool, but the limbs had claws, and it had the small tail like a sheep.

When the beast saw them, it stopped and slowly two similar beasts walked out of the shadows from behind and joined it. One of them was a half wolf and half goat, whereas the other one was half wolf and half donkey. The three beasts were glaring at the four humans standing in front of them with bared teeth and saliva dripping from their mouth. The three soldiers pointed their guns at the beasts, and Boris pulled out his knife.

"What the hell are these things?" Tizona spoke while shockingly looking at the creatures. He couldn't believe what he was witnessing.

"Creatures from fairy tales," Boris sounded sarcastic.

After the creatures growled and glared for some time, they ran toward them. Meanwhile, the creatures were approaching them with all the intention of killing them, everyone started shooting at them. But, none of them were able to hit a single creature. Eventually one of Lieutenant Colada's bullet hit the half wolf half donkey beast before it could reach him, and the shot hit right at the center of its head. Meanwhile, the half-wolf half goat beast lunged at Tizona and the other beast lunged at Olivier with open claws and open jaws.

Tizona was out of bullet, but he acted quickly by pulling out his Bayonet knife. He dodged the beast at an inch distance from its claws and pushed his knife inside the beast's skull. On the other side, the beast which lunged on Olivier received a punch from Boris in midair before it could touch Olivier. It fell on the ground, and before it could stand up, Boris pushed his big hunting knife inside its skull. Then he pulled back his knife from the beast's skull, stood up and turned around. Everyone was looking at him.

"Now can we go?" Boris asked politely.

Now that the Amestrian soldiers encountered some creatures which they had never seen before, they had no choice but to believe what Boris had told them.

"Were these what you call Baba Yaga?" Olivier asked.

"These were just the minions. I am sure it must have heard the gunshots. It will be better if we leave this place. Not even the house is safe for us now," Boris replied.

Everyone gulped out of fear. They followed Boris this time and left the place as fast as possible.

After few minutes had passed off their departure, the noise from a creature's footsteps broke the recently achieved silence in that place. The creature was not visible, but its growl was clearly audible. And after few moments, the dead bodies of the beasts killed by the Amestrians and Boris were shredded into pieces within seconds. Soon after that, the creature roared which could be heard from miles.

…

Maria and Danny were carefully listening to Boris like some children. But, Boris stopped there and said, "Bedtime story is over. You two should take some rest, I will tell you the rest of the story some other day."

"There are chimeras in Drachma?" Maria's eyes were widened while she asked.

"So you do know what those creatures are called," Boris said.

"Is there by any chance we are in Baba Yaga's territory?" Danny interrupted with a scared face.

"No, Baba Yaga died a long time ago…now sleep and let me sleep," Boris replied and yawned. He then lied on Toby's furry back, using it as a pillow.

Danny and Maria didn't question Boris anymore and went to sleep.


	34. Choices (Part 1 - Tombstone)

**[Central City]**

After the post mortem of Oliver's dead body, it was confirmed that the body was in fact of Oliver. Riza was devastated after losing Oliver. In those circumstances, neither the Fuehrer nor Roy wanted her to live alone for some time. So, she was ordered by the Fuehrer to stay at Roy's house where the servants could look after her.

Riza was always seen as a tough and self-dependent woman by others. But, that was only on the outside. In reality, her heart was very fragile when it came to Roy and Oliver…her little family. And the death of one of them was surely going to make her heart shatter to pieces.

Finally, the funeral day came, and everybody who was close to Roy or Riza were gathered for their son's funeral but, most of them didn't know that they had a son together until they were invited for the funeral, and Fuehrer Grumman made sure to suppress the matter so that it wouldn't reach to media. Only a handful of people were told the truth about Oliver.

As it was not a funeral of some military personnel, nobody was in uniform that day. It was midday but, heavy clouds were blocking the sunlight as if heaven was also mourning the death of a young soul. When Oliver was being buried, Riza was unable to suppress her emotions. She fell on her knees and broke down to tears. She was a mother after all, and no mother in the world can hold down her tears when she sees her child getting buried before she does.

Nobody in the funeral had ever seen the side of Riza Hawkeye which they were witnessing that day. In that difficult moment, Rebecca, Gracia, and Winry were beside her to give her some comfort by rubbing her back.

After sometime when the funeral was over, everyone was busy talking to each other and meeting Roy and Riza before leaving. Roy was standing alone under a tree near the burial site of his son. He was deep in thought, but he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hey Colo-," Ed said, but he was interrupted by Al before he could complete his sentence. "Brother, he is a General now," Al interrupted.

Roy turned around and saw the Elric brothers were coming toward him.

"Hey General Mustang," Ed greeted.

"Fullmetal, Alphonse," Roy acknowledged with a forced smile.

Ed and Al stood near Roy, and Ed said, "I am not that person anymore, General."

"So, I heard you two are going to travel the world. Is it true?" Roy asked.

"Yes, brother and I are planning to go on the footsteps of our father, to travel the world and have more understanding about alchemy. But, we are going to rebuild our house first," Al replied.

"You two are doing a great job like always," Roy praised.

There was a small pause before Ed and Al sympathized with Roy. "We are sorry for your loss General," Ed said with a sad voice.

Roy took a deep breath and exhaled. "Thank you," He said.

"How old was he?" Ed asked.

"He was only 9. Almost the same age when I met you two," Roy chuckled faintly remembering the first time he met the Elric brothers, but one could clearly see through the fake emotions he was wearing on his face. He then continued, "He considered you as his hero, Ed."

Again there was a small pause before Al spoke. "You and Major Hawkeye have done so much for us. If there is anything we can do, please let us know," Al sympathized.

"Thank you boys," Roy said.

Sometime later, everybody had left the funeral ground and only the parents of the dead boy were left there. Riza was standing in front of her son's burial place and Roy was standing beside her.

"Oliver Mustang, born 1906, died 1915," Riza read from the tombstone and paused for a moment. Then she continued while looking at the tombstone, "Was he good at alchemy?"

"Far better than I was," Roy replied and continued after a small pause, "I always had a feeling that you knew about our alchemy sessions."

"I just didn't want to ruin your moments," Riza confirmed.

Meanwhile, Roy put his hands in his coat pocket, and said, "I have something for you." He pulled out a small badly crafted wooden dog figurine, and offered it to Riza, "He made this dog figurine using a transmutation circle once. He wanted to show it to you very badly, but I told him not to. This was the first thing he made using alchemy and he wanted you to have it."

Riza's hand was shivering when she took the dog figurine from Roy's hand. She held it using both her hands and looked at it while remembering her son. Soon tears from her eyes started dropping and were falling on that figurine. Roy didn't want to see her cry, so he averted his eyes, gritting his teeth in order to hold down his tears.

They didn't talk for some time, but suddenly Riza looked at Roy and asked a question out of blue. "Why do you love me, Roy?" She asked.

Roy still didn't look at her. "I wish I knew the exact answer to that… maybe it's because you make me feel like the 15-year-old Roy who was happy," Roy replied.

"We both are hopeless," She chuckled with a weakened voice, and continued, "Sometimes I think, if you had never joined the military, we would be a happy family… and Oliver would be alive now."

Roy finally looked at her sad eyes, filled with tears even though she was trying hard to suppress them. He embraced her with one hand and she put her head on his shoulder while both of them looked at the grave of their son.


	35. Choices (Part 2 - Selonova)

The team from Amestris and their guide Boris along with his pet bear Toby took shelter in a broken house, just at the outskirt of the forest. Boris told Maria and Danny about the time when he met Olivier Armstrong. Then they slept well under the protection of a large brown bear sleeping right at the entrance of that house.

When the Sun started spreading its crimson ray on the land of Drachma, it also managed to enter the house through the holes on the ceiling, and the rays fell straight on the closed eyes of Danny and Maria. They woke up while Boris was enjoying his sleep with his furry friend.

Now that the sun was shining in the sky, the internals of the house in which they took shelter, were visible more clearly. There were marks and small carved drawing on the walls. While Maria and Danny were examining the drawings, Boris woke up and spoke from behind.

"What are you guys looking at?" Boris yawned.

"Just some writing and drawings on the wall," Danny replied while looking at the drawings.

Boris stood up and moved closer to them to look at the drawings and writings by himself. There were three bubbles in which something was written and one bubble was connected with other with arrow marks. The complete carved drawing of those bubbles was representing a series of places. In the first bubble, a cacoon was drawn which was connected to the bubble in which a house was drawn. The second bubble was then connected to the bubble where there was a question mark. The wall was covered with dirt so, Boris cleaned the wall with his palm to see what else was written on it. After he cleaned it, he was shocked to see what was written over there. Maria and Danny were also watching it, but those words on the wall had a far greater impact on Boris, the words which said – "Krish was here".

Boris was speechless, he fell on his knees and started looking at the floor. He then got emotional and spoke. "All this time, I tried to search for you, and you were here all along… More than 25 years passed, not a single clue…I almost gave up on you…I wonder what you would be looking like now old friend," He chuckled faintly.

There were some tears accumulated in his eyes. He wiped out those tears, stood up and turned around. There was a genuine smile on his face. Maria and Danny were a bit surprised by his actions. So, Maria asked, "Is that Krish person very important to you?"

Boris kept on smiling and replied, "I spent almost my entire life searching for him, and this is the first clue I found after all those years…Yes, he is indeed someone very important to me."

After his explanation, everyone was starting him, even Toby. But, he walked past Maria and Danny, and tousled the bear, with the grin still intact on his face.

"Let's go, we have some important business in Othon," He said.

They picked up their bag packs and got ready to leave the broken house.

"So, how are we going to reach Othon from here?" Danny asked.

"There is a village nearby," Maria informed.

"How do you know that?" Boris and Danny asked simultaneously out of surprise.

"Get out of the house and see for yourself," Maria replied.

Boris and Danny got out of the house and saw there was really a village at some distance. The houses in the village were appearing small from the place they were standing because the village was approximately 1 mile away from the broken house. Everyone was now assured that there was indeed a village nearby but there was a question bugging in everyone's mind, which was brought into the conversation by Boris. "It's really strange that we didn't see any light from the village when we came here last night," He said curiously.

"Let's go and find out," Maria proposed.

"Alright," Boris agreed.

"But, what about Toby? Are you also going to take him into the village?" Danny asked.

"Don't worry, he won't enter the village. He will be wandering near the village avoiding contact from people. We have been doing this from years, and he can easily track me if needed," Boris replied.

They separated from Toby and went toward the village. The village's name was **Selonova**. It was an almost abandoned village, where only a few families were left. The people of the village mostly relied on fishing from the sea which was 3 miles away from the village. When the group entered the village, they saw the people wearing furry coats, furry boots, and furry hoods. The village life was looking very dull. They went to a shop where a man in his sixties was selling fishes. The shop was in the open, so when Boris and team reached near the shop, the shopkeeper stood up and smiled. "Welcome, you don't seem to be from around," The shopkeeper greeted.

"No, we are just on our way to Othon. Do you happen to know how far it is from here?" Boris asked with a smile.

"Othon is just 30 miles from here," The shopkeeper replied.

"Is there any train or another mode of transportation we can use to reach there?" Boris enquired.

"If you get lucky then you may find a cart going to Othon," The shopkeeper answered.

Boris responded by saying "I see", and then took a deep breath to get out of the frustration. He started thinking about a way to get to Othon and that too fast. Meanwhile, Maria noticed the few fishes in the shops, and asked politely, "Can you prepare some fish for us?"

The Shopkeeper got worked up and said with a charge of energy, "Definitely Miss. How would you like it, raw or grilled?"

"Grilled," Maria answered with a smile.

"Alright," The shopkeeper responded, and quickly pulled out a fish. Then he started cutting it into rectangular medium sized cuts. While he was preparing the fish, Maria asked, "So, why there are so fewer people in your village?"

All of the energy in shopkeeper's voice disappeared instantly. He replied to the question, but with a sad voice while cutting the fish, "Everyone is moving to Othon slowly, that's why the population is continuously decreasing."

"Why is that?" Danny asked curiously.

"There are lots of reason for that. There is no proper connectivity to other places, there aren't many facilities in this village, and the most important reason being the safety issue in this place," the Shopkeeper answered.

Maria and Danny got more curious. So, Danny couldn't help but ask a follow-up question. "What safety issue?" He enquired.

The shopkeeper was finished with cutting the fish. So he put the fish pieces on the grill and looked at them. "This place has been infested with some creatures which come at night and hunt animals and human beings if they find any in the open. So, we stay inside our homes at night, even we keep our huskies inside," The shopkeeper replied.

"Is that why you don't even use lights at night?" Maria asked.

"Yes," the Shopkeeper answered.

Now that they got the answer on why they couldn't see the village at night, even Boris got interested in the conversation going on. "When did the last incident happened?" Boris interfered.

"A week back. They took a man about my age… He was drunk and let his door open at night," The shopkeeper replied.

"This seems very dangerous, isn't the military doing anything about the situation?" Maria continued questioning, and the shopkeeper kept on answering. "They don't care about a village full of old people," The shopkeeper answered with a frustrated chuckle.

When the team learned that the village was full of old people, their eyes and mouth were widened out of surprise.

"What do you mean old? Isn't there a single young person here?" Maria asked.

"No, everyone left long ago," The shopkeeper paused for a moment because of some old memories and then continued, "My son wanted me to go with him but, I have too many memories in this place. I would rather die here than go somewhere else."

In the meantime, the fish he was preparing was ready. He put the grilled fish pieces on a plate and served it. "Here is your fish," He said after placing the plate in front of them.

Because the shopkeeper was a very old resident of that village, Boris thought of asking him the question which was bugging him. "Do you happen to know about the house present near the forest?" He asked.

"Yes, that house belonged to a hunter. I think…he died a very long time ago, maybe 20 to 30 years ago," The shopkeeper replied.

"Was there a kid with him? A boy maybe, 14-15 years old?" Boris asked a follow-up question.

"After he died someone started living in that house. You are correct, I remember a boy, 14-15 years old living with a man in his late twenties. They didn't communicate with the villagers much, and one day they suddenly vanished," The shopkeeper answered.

While Boris was questioning, Danny and Maria were busy eating the grilled fish.

"Do you remember their names?" Boris asked anxiously.

"I remember the man's name, it was 'Artem'. He sold me fish sometimes which he used to catch at the bay," The shopkeeper replied.

Boris started thinking if he happened to know any person by that name, but no one by that name was coming to his mind. Meanwhile, the shopkeeper caught Boris' attention by saying, "There is one thing I can never forget."

Boris curiously looked at the shopkeeper to listen what he was going to say.

"There were never cases of creature attack in our village before Artem's disappearance, but after few months of his disappearance, creature attacks started happening. Initially, we thought it to be the attacks of some wild animals, but soon we understood once we saw them. We also tried to kill them, but we lost a lot of our own. Soon, many of the villagers gave up, they decided to leave the village or coexist with the creatures," The shopkeeper informed.

In the meantime, Danny and Maria were finished with their food. "The fish was really nice," Danny said after taking a burp.

Boris looked at the plate, and couldn't find a single bit of fish meat left on it. He glared at Danny and yelled, "WHAT? YOU ATE IT ALL?"

"You were busy talking," Danny replied calmly.

Boris narrowed his eyes and asked annoyingly, "So you thought you can eat it all?"

"Don't worry, I have more," The shopkeeper interrupted and smiled.

The shopkeeper then quickly grilled some more fish and packed them. Boris took the packed fish and thanked the shopkeeper.

While they were about to leave, the shopkeeper remembered something. "I forgot one thing," He said.

Everyone looked at the shopkeeper with curious faces. "If you want to know more about Artem, then you should go to **Ms. Viola**. She lives in the sixth house from here," The shopkeeper informed.

Boris couldn't stop himself from getting some clues which could lead him to his long lost friend, Krish. He thanked the old shopkeeper and went toward Viola's house to get some answers.


	36. Choices (Part 3 - Viola)

After getting the information about Artem from the fish seller in the village, Boris got more excited. After a very long time, he was hoping to find his long lost friend Krish. In order to get some more information, Boris went to meet Viola as per the direction given by the shopkeeper.

While walking through the village, the team noticed that all the doors of the houses were either made up of thick wood or metal. Moreover, there were very minimum windows in the buildings. When they reached the house as per the information provided by the shopkeeper, Boris knocked at wooden the door. No one opened the door after the first knock, so he knocked few more times. Finally, the door opened, and a woman who seemed like she was in her early fifties, opened the door. She was wearing a greyish furry coat.

As soon as she opened the door, she asked, "Who is there?" Even though three adult people were standing right in front of her, none of them replied.

The team was surprised to see her clouded eyes when she opened the door. Clearly, they were not expecting a blind woman to respond to their knock. All of them were stunned and looking at Viola. So, when Viola didn't receive any reply, she asked once again even though she had sensed them. "I asked, who is there?" She asked.

Danny took the lead and replied quickly, "My name is Danny, Ms. Viola and I am with two of my friends. We came here because we heard that you knew Artem."

Viola was speechless for a moment after hearing the name Artem after a very long time. Danny just brought back some precious old memories which made her a bit sad. "Artem? After 25 years, someone finally came asking about Artem," She lowered her head and paused for a moment. Suddenly she looked at them with her clouded eyes and asked excitedly with a smile, "Is Krish with you?"

Everyone was surprised at the mentioning of Krish's name. Boris was assured that he indeed came to the right place. He was speechless for a moment, and before he could speak, Danny replied, "Sorry Ma'am, we have never met Krish, we just know his name. We came here just to get some answers if you won't mind?"

Viola's smile disappeared when she heard the answer. "Sure, please come in," She responded calmly.

All of them entered the house and sat on the chairs near the dining table. Viola also took a seat near them. "So what do you want to know about Artem?" She asked.

"Was Krish the name of the kid living with Artem?" Boris asked curiously without wasting any time.

"Yes…he was a very nice kid, very lively and joyful. Every day they came to my house, Krish used to talk about everything he did that day. Sometimes he used to play with other kids in the village, but I doubt anyone would even remember his name after so many years," Viola replied.

"Do you happen to know where did they go?" Boris enquired.

"I wish I knew," Viola sighed and continued, "Artem was hiding from the military. That poor fellow," She chuckled and said, "He risked his own life just to save that kid."

Viola stopped speaking and went into the thoughts of Boris and Krish. She was unaware that tears from her clouded eyes were sliding down her cheek in front of the guests. Boris, Danny, and Maria understood that Artem and Krish were very close to her heart, and something really bad might have happened which made her break down to tears. They didn't want to be rude to Viola, so Maria quickly went to the kitchen and brought a glass of water. She placed her hand on the shoulder of Viola and offered her the glass of water, "Here Ms. Viola, have some water."

Viola wiped her tears and took the glass of water. "Thank you, dear," She smiled.

After a small moment when Boris thought Viola was comfortable, he asked with hesitation, "Is Artem dead?"

"I want to believe that he is alive… 25 years ago when he left, he and Krish had a heated conversation because of me. He said to sort it out the next day, but he never returned," Viola replied.

Viola took a sip of water and paused for a moment. Meanwhile, Danny was finished eating the fish that Boris bought. "Hey Boris, please forgive me, I ate all the fish we just bought," He apologized.

Boris turned around and saw all the grilled fish was gone. "HOW CAN YOU EAT ALL THE FISH? DON'T YOU HAVE ANY SHAME?" He scolded, but then he quickly realized that Viola was sitting there. So, he calmed down and looked toward Viola. "Sorry for the bad behavior, Ms. Viola," He said.

Viola smiled after listening to his apology, and said, "What a coincidence. Your name is also Boris!"

"Who else's name is Boris?" Boris asked with a curious expression.

"Artem's. Artem was never his real name, he used that name to hide his true identity. His real name was **Boris Bolotov** ," Viola replied.

Boris froze, his mouth and eyes were wide open when he heard Viola's answer. "How can that be?" He stuttered.

"That's a pretty normal man, I have met many people whose name is same as me," Danny interrupted.

"But my name is Boris Bolotov," He informed with a stressed voice.

Everyone was surprised to find that Artem's real name and Boris' name were exactly the same. "Now that is weird," Danny expressed.

"Boris, have you ever been to this region?" Maria asked.

"No," Boris replied.

"I think Boris lost his memory when he left this village 25 years ago," Danny joked.

"Shut up Danny," Maria scolded.

"I think it's a coincidence that you share the same name as my Boris, and Boris was older than me anyways. Do you happen to be 55 years old?" Viola questioned.

Danny burst into laughter upon hearing that, and with that Viola got her answer without even getting a confirmation from Boris. In the meantime, Maria asked, "Ms. Viola, can you please tell us how you met Artem, eh Boris?"

Danny stopped laughing in order to hear the answer. Viola took a deep breath and exhaled before replying. "He met me when he started living in the hunter's house. He always had a soft spot for poor things, so when he saw me in need of help after my father's death, he came to help me and became like a family to me. He was a fugitive who was running from the Drachmann military because he tried to save some children who were involved in something bad operated by the military. Krish was among one of the children."

Boris got more curious and asked, "For how much time did they stay in the hunter's house?"

"Two years," Viola replied.

"We got to know that the creature attacks started after few months of their disappearance. Is that true?" Maria enquired.

"Yes, it is true that creature attacks started after their disappearance. Many of the villagers fought with them and later gave up but, whatever happening nowadays is not a normal creature attack. They make some human noises to lure people outside, and I believe there is only one creature coming every night unlike earlier when a group of creatures used to attack the village," Viola answered.

"Ms. Viola, has anyone seen the creature?" Boris enquired.

"I don't think so," Viola replied.

"Does it repeat the words, like someone in need of help or is in pain?" Boris asked.

"No, it talks like a normal human. It even replies to the question you ask," Viola confirmed.

Maria looked at Viola with narrowed eyes and asked curiously, "How do you know that?"

"That's because I have talked to it. The creature's voice was like of a man in pain. It was standing on the other side of the wall one night, and it asked me to come out. When I asked it why? It told me that it wanted to kill me… it wanted to tear my body apart and free my soul," Viola replied.

Danny started rubbing his arms not because of the cold but because of the scary story. "Aren't you afraid?" Danny asked.

"I have grown used to this as everyone else in the village," Viola smiled.

"I have also encountered some individuals in the past who could transform into some creatures," Boris informed.

"We also know some individuals like that, but I have never heard a case like this," Maria added.

"Don't you guys think the creature which we encountered last night could be this creature?" Danny said and looked toward his group for an answer.

"Maybe it was. Good thing I brought Toby along," Boris raised one of his eyebrows with pride.

Suddenly, Maria looked at Viola and asked, "Ms. Viola, will it be alright if we stay here tonight?"

But, before Viola could reply, Danny interfered by saying, "No we are not, we have some important business at Othon."

"We can leave for Othon tomorrow, its only 30 miles from here after all," Maria proposed.

Danny stood up and grabbed Maria's wrist while Maria looked at him out of surprise. "If you will excuse us, Ms. Viola, Maria and I have to buy some grilled fish," He sounded a bit angry. Soon after that, he took Maria outside the house while Boris stayed behind with Viola.

When they got outside, Danny left his grip on Maria's wrist. He glared into Maria's eyes. "What do you think you are doing? Have you forgotten that we have a mission which we have to complete in one month?" He hissed.

"No, I haven't forgotten. Don't you think there is something weird going around here in Drachma? First, we boarded a military controlled train which used to stop at isolated places after certain time intervals to pick people. Now, we have come to a village where a human chimera is attacking the villagers," Maria answered calmly.

"So what? We are not here to hunt chimeras," Danny continued to sound angry.

"Don't you get it, Danny? Human chimeras were a result of human transmutation experiments in our country that was being conducted by the military, which can also be happening in Drachma," Maria explained.

Danny then understood what Maria was trying to do. He calmed down and added, "If human transmutation is being done by Drachma, then it also means that Drachma does have alchemists, and if they do have alchemists then why haven't they used them in battles? Also, based on the information provided to us, human transmutation requires the philosopher's stone otherwise the alchemist will lose one of their body parts."

"Then you should also know that there is no other country who have the knowledge of making a philosopher's stone, and I don't think they will be sacrificing alchemists to make a human chimera, if they really do have alchemists," Maria added and continued, "And if we catch this chimera, we can clear all our doubts."

Danny sighed and a huge smile appeared on his face. Watching that Maria said with a smile, "See, I was telling you, I didn't forget the mission."

"So how are you planning to catch the chimera?" Danny asked.

"For that, we have to talk to Boris, and it will be easier if you can bring some grilled fish first," Maria smiled.


	37. Choices (Part 4 - Creature of Selonova)

Danny, Maria, and Boris decided to stay in Selonova, not only to encounter the creature which was terrorizing the place but to catch it. They made a plan to catch it and informed all the villagers to stay inside their houses like they usually do. Because the creature roamed outside only at night, Boris and the Amestrians set up traps at the daylight with the help of the villagers. And when the sunset, all the residents went inside their homes, leaving the guests in the outside to act on their strategy.

It was a clear night, the moon was spreading its light on the village, while snowflakes were dropping from the sky. The road was white because of the snowflakes, and the moonlight was making it more beautiful. Boris was virtually the only one outside. He was sitting outside Viola's house, waiting for the monster to show up. To pass his time, he was making flowers on the ground with his knife.

Finally, his wait was over when he heard some footsteps. The sound of those footsteps was coming from a distance, straight ahead of Boris. When he lifted his head up to see what was that, he saw a big wolf, with a skinny body. It seemed like a dire wolf from the fairy tales has come to life, and it was hungry from many days because its last kill was more than a week ago. The creature was drooling and its eyes were fixed on Boris, after all, it was looking at a prey after many days.

Boris looked at the creature and stood up very calmly. "I guess you are the creature then, but I thought you would be a bit healthy and would be looking more like a human," Boris said.

"I will…e…eat…you alive," The creature bared its teeth and tightened its limbs to hunt.

"You can try," Boris smirked.

Then the creature ran toward Boris, but Boris was standing at his position, fully relaxed. He was not even pointing his knife toward the creature. When the creature was only some feet away from him, the pet bear of Boris, Toby rushed out of the shadows and attacked the creature. The creature fell on the ground, but it stood up quickly and ran toward Boris ignoring Toby. Its eyes were filled with bloodlust which shook Boris for a moment, but he managed to quickly dodge the attack and ran toward Toby. The creature got angrier and turned around to look at Boris, but this time it couldn't attack him directly because Toby was standing in front of him. Boris pulled out his other knife and started taunting the creature, and surprisingly it worked. The creature charged toward him, but Toby stood up on his hind legs and spreading his claws in order to protect his human father with all his might. It was very scary to see a 9 feet tall bear spreading his big claws and roaring, but still, the creature didn't stop. It leaped forward to attack Toby, and as expected, Toby hit it with his paws. The creature flew away to some distance and hit a wall. And soon after that, Toby charged toward it. Watching that, the creature stood up and dodged him, then it quickly ran toward Boris as soon as it got the opening. When it got near Boris, it jumped at him, but Boris again evaded the attack by rolling out of the way, and at the same time hurting one of the legs of the creature with his knives. Boris then quickly ran toward Toby and stood beside him to take shelter. The creature got angrier after receiving a blow from the bear and a cut from Boris. Blood from its leg was spilling on the snow, yet it wanted to kill Boris. Boris was standing, pointing his knife toward the creature and Toby was beside Boris baring his teeth.

"What a pathetic and ugly looking creature you are," Boris taunted.

The creature was already angry enough, but it understood that it was not going to win the fight in a direct encounter, so it turned around to go. But when it turned around, it saw a spark and within a matter of seconds, the creature got surrounded by fire. It panicked because of the extensive light as if it was blinded for a moment. On one side of the fire circle surrounding the creature, there were Boris and Toby, and on the other side, Maria and Danny were standing at some distance with their handguns.

Danny was nervous, yet he was pointing his gun at the creature. Maria was standing right beside him but she seemed more composed than him. "Are you sure that the chimera won't come toward us?" Danny gulped.

Maria was also afraid of the chance when the creature could attack them. So, she was focusing on the creature with lowered eyebrows and pointing her gun at the creature. "If we don't shoot then it might," She replied with composure.

Danny and Maria started shooting near the creature. There was fire surrounding the creature, and due to its nocturnal nature, the creature was unable to handle the sudden heavy light from the fire. It was unable to see clearly, but it could see the faint image of Boris and Toby in one direction and was able to hear the gunshots from other direction. There was one more way that the creature was able to see faintly, so it jumped out of the fire and ran in that direction. Just after running a few meters, it felt something below its feet and before it could do anything, it was trapped inside a net, hanging on a log that was placed on the roof of two houses.

Everyone jumped with excitement after successfully capturing the creature. Soon they extinguished the fire, and then they went to see the creature. They looked up at the creature, who was struggling inside the net and looking down at them with a pissed off face. It was trying to bite off the net, but it was clearly failing.

Danny looked at the creature and commented, "What a pain."

"Looks like it is really hungry," Boris said.

And then suddenly, they heard a gunshot and a bullet hit the log where the net was tied. Everyone was startled. "WHAT THE FUCK!" They shouted simultaneously.

They looked at the direction of the gunshot and saw an old man was holding a rifle. He was loading a bullet, while walking toward them.

"Where did he come from?" Danny exclaimed.

Boris angrily looked at the old man and yelled, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"

"At long last, I can finally take my revenge," The old man replied while pointing his gun at the creature.

"You can take your revenge, but first we need some answers from this thing," Boris tried to persuade.

But, the old man totally ignored Boris and again shot a bullet. And even the second bullet missed its mark. It hit the log instead.

Everyone was afraid that their effort might go to waste. So, everyone was trying to persuade the old man in their own way. "We can understand your pain Sir, but plea-," Maria said.

But, before she could complete, the old man interrupted her fiercely by saying, "No, you don't."

While he was again loading a bullet in his rifle, even Danny tried his luck. "This is our catch man, you can't just come and take it away from us," Danny said.

The old man ignored Danny like he ignored Boris and fired the bullet. Even this time also, the bullet hit the log, and within a few seconds, the log started breaking. The sound of cracking wood instantly filled the heart of everyone with fear.

"Did you guys hear that?" Maria asked to confirm if she was hearing voices. But, she got her answer when she looked up like Boris and Danny. They saw the log was breaking slowly.

"Fuck," Danny gulped.

In that intense situation, Maria was able to identify the most vulnerable thing which needed to be protected. "Stay on the way to the old man, the Chimera shouldn't reach him," She advised.

And just after a few seconds, the log broke and the net which contained the creature fell on the ground. The creature was free, but it was injured badly. It stood up slowly and looked at the team who were blocking the path between it and the old man. It was baring its teeth and drooling, and because its leg was wounded by Boris, it was bleeding over the snow. Its eyes were burning like raging fire, but it understood that it was outmatched by three humans and a big brown bear, so it turned around and ran toward the wilderness.

After the creature was gone, everyone took a sigh of relief. Then they turned around to look at the old man who was just standing with his rifle and acting like a kid after realizing his mistake.

"Hey old man, do you know...that because of you, our whole plan failed?" Danny roared.

"I just wanted my revenge. That monster, took my grandson yea-" The old man tried to explain.

"But, you failed to kill the monster, instead you… FREED THE MONSTER," Danny interrupted fiercely.

"Stop scolding him, Danny. What's done is done. Now we have to track down the chimera, and I think we can follow the blood trails on the ground for that, but it would have nice if we had a dog in this situation," Maria said.

"For your information Miss, a bear's smelling ability is even stronger than a dog's…I think you should be happy that we have a bear instead of a dog," Boris smirked.

A huge smile appeared on Maria's face. "Then let's catch the chimera," She said excitedly.

"I am also going with you," The old man proposed.

Hearing that, Danny quickly walked near the old man and glared. "No, you are not," He snatched the rifle from the old man's hand aggressively, and continued "I will be taking this."

The team then went into the wilderness to hunt the creature of Selonova, leaving the old man behind. They were lucky that they had a bear with them to track down the creature, and they were also aware that a wounded beast is more dangerous than a hungry beast. But, to get some answers they were willing to take the risk.


	38. Choices (Part 5 - The Cave)

Physical wounds heal within a few days or months but, emotional wounds take a far lot of time to heal, and sometimes they never heal. The pain of the old man who was trying to shoot the chimera was also like that. The chimera of Selonova village was responsible for many killings, and one of its victims was the grandson of the old man, who was only 4 years at the time of his death. But, instead of killing the chimera, he broke free it accidentally when he was trying to shoot it. Boris, Danny, and Maria were mad at him for ruining their plan at the last stage, but they went behind the creature to fix the mistakes done. They followed the blood trail of the creature, and to make the things easier, they had a bear to find it.

The team went into the wilderness and after some time, they reached near a cave. The blood trails were going inside the cave which made the team a bit uncomfortable. "I don't think it's a good idea to go inside a dark cave, where we definitely know that a crazy chimera is present, and which desperately wants to kill us," Danny gulped while looking at the cave entrance.

"We have no choice, this chimera can give us a lot of answers," Maria said.

"Why don't we set a trap out here?" Danny proposed.

"It might not work. This cave could be having multiple exits, and you don't have enough time to waste in waiting for it," Boris advised.

Danny looked at Boris with widened eyes. "But-," Danny stuttered.

Boris looked at Danny. "Don't worry Danny, we have a bear with us. Toby can easily see in the dark and smell the creature's presence. It will be easy," He smiled.

Before entering the cave, they made a torch and lit it on fire. Toby was walking on the front, and just behind him Boris was holding the torch in one hand and a knife on another hand, Maria was behind Boris with her handgun, and Danny was walking last in the line holding a rifle which he took from the old man. While they were walking, they could clearly see the blood trails on the floor. "How hard did you cut its leg, Boris?" Danny asked.

"Pretty hard I guess. If we are lucky, then it might have weakened by now due to blood-loss," Boris replied.

They entered more and more inside the cave, following the trail of blood and the scent of the creature. There were lots of animal skeleton inside the cave, and when they went deeper, they found torn off clothes and human skeletons. There were mostly skulls of adult humans, but some of the skulls were of children as well. Finally, they reached the place where the blood trail was ending, and the creature was lying beside the wall of the cave. The creature was also able to see them, but it was too weakened to move. The bleeding from its leg was stopped, but the fall from a height and contact with fire had worn off all the strength it had.

The team was convinced that there was no danger, so they all relaxed down. "Looks like it has suffered lots of injuries. It's not even able to move its jaw properly," Boris said while looking at the creature.

"It was already looking very weak, to begin with. Maybe it hasn't eaten anything from days," Maria said.

Meanwhile, the creature growled with a weakened voice by saying, "Food."

Maria sympathized after looking at the creature's condition. "Has anyone got anything?" She asked.

Boris didn't want to help the creature to begin with by giving the only fish he had. But, he changed his mind after watching the poor condition of the creature. He sighed and said, "I got a fish in my bag…but, I am only helping this monster because we need some answers."

Boris then pulled out a fish from his bag and watching that, Toby growled. So, Boris looked at Toby. "Sorry buddy, I will get you another one from the village," He gave the fish to Maria and continued, "But before you feed it, we need to tie it up."

"Alright," Maria said.

Boris and Danny tied up the creature, then they patched its wound and fed him. Even though the fish was not enough to satisfy its hunger, it was good enough to give it some strength. While the creature was eating fish, Danny and Boris were looking at the surroundings using the torch they had. Toby was sitting at a corner and Maria was feeding the creature.

While looking, Boris and Danny found a torn plain full shirt covered only with dirt on the floor. Danny picked up the shirt and cleaned it. By that time, the creature was finished with the fish they provided to it. The creature then stood up and stared them. "Great, looks like we can now question it," Boris expressed.

Maria looked at the creature and when she was about to speak, the creature interrupted, "Untie…me…I...I…promise…I won't…k…kill you. I will kill…only…those two," It stuttered.

"Please untie it, let it show its skills to kill us which it couldn't show us back there," Danny said sarcastically.

Maria ignored Danny and asked the creature, "Do you have a name?"

The creature got angry and bared its teeth. "U…UNTIE ME," It roared.

"Do you remember being human?" Maria continued. But, the creature kept on shouting "UNTIE ME" very fiercely.

After asking some questions and not getting the answers, Maria got frustrated and said, "Fine, if you don't want to tell us, we are not going to untie you."

The creature stopped shouting and glared at Maria with bared teeth, but the intimidation was clearly not working on Maria. After some time, it finally calmed down and said while stuttering, "I…d…don't…remember…m…my name…b…but I…remember…being…human"

"Do you remember anyone?" Maria asked politely.

"No," The creature replied.

In the meantime, Danny was cleaning up the shirt he found, and while he was searching the front pocket, he found something. It was a photograph. Boris couldn't comprehend it when he saw the dirt covered photograph in Danny's hand. "What is that?" Boris asked curiously.

"Looks like a photograph," Danny replied and started cleaning off the dirt from the photo.

The photograph also got the attention of Maria. She got closer to Danny to have a look at the photograph. When Danny cleaned off the dirt, they saw a black and white photograph of a 13-14 years old girl standing beside a boy around her age. Both of the children in the photo were wearing sweaters and round caps. They were looking very happy, embracing their arm around each other's shoulder while looking toward the camera.

Maria had got the answer that the creature was, in fact, a human once. And watching the photo, she got curious. She snatched the photo from Danny's hand and showed it to the creature. "Do you know anyone from this photograph?" She questioned excitedly.

The creature looked at the photograph very carefully, and after some time, tears started forming at the edge of its eyes. The human-like actions shocked everyone. "Do you know someone here?" Maria asked.

"B…B…Brother" The creature stuttered.

Maria quickly turned around the photograph. Boris, Maria, and Danny now had a doubt that whether the creature was talking about the boy in the photo or not. Meanwhile, the creature had lowered its head and was crying while uttering the word- "Brother" with a weakened voice.

"Is it talking about the boy in this photo?" Maria questioned which was also in the mind of Danny and Boris.

Boris looked at the creature and said, "And if this creature is really the girl in the photo, then something really bad happened to her."

And then suddenly the creature stopped crying and uttering the word "Brother". It looked at the three-person standing in front of it with desperation and begged, "P…P…Please…un…untie me."

Boris closed his eyes and sighed after looking at the pitiful face of that creature. "What do you think guys? Shall we untie it?" Boris asked.

"Yes," Maria and Danny answered instantly.

"But what if it tries to attack us?" Boris questioned.

"Then we will capture it again. It is already too weak," Maria answered.

Boris walked toward the creature and pulled out his knife. Watching Boris proceeding toward the creature, Toby stood up. Boris carefully cut the ropes and quickly backed down.

After the creature was untied, it stood up slowly and walked toward one corner, and dug up something. It pulled out a small leather purse with its mouth from the hole it dug and took it to Maria. Maria was scared initially watching such a big terrifying creature close to her when it offered the purse to her. But, she gathered some courage and pulled out the purse from its mouth. Then she opened it and found a folded piece of paper in it.

The folded piece of paper was actually a letter and on the top of it, the information of the recipient was clearly visible. "To My Little Sister" was what written on it.


	39. Choices (Part 6 - The Letter)

Boris, Danny, and Maria were able to get the results they were expecting out of their plan, which was to get some answers from the chimera of Selonova village. The chimera dug out a purse hidden in the cave where it was residing and offered it to Maria. And when Maria opened it, she found a letter which was addressed to the chimera when it was a human. They found out that it was not a monster from the beginning, but a teenage girl who was happy once. Due to some incidences after converting to a chimera, she completely lost her memories, even her identity, and morality.

After Maria found the folded letter in the purse, she unfolded it to see what was so important in that piece of paper that the creature hid it. As everyone was looking at the letter, Maria decided to read it aloud. She began reading it under the light of the torch which Boris was holding. "Dear Louie," She said while Boris and Danny were looking at the letter. And meanwhile they were busy reading the letter, they were unaware that the creature was walking slowly and unsteadily toward the exit of the cave.

Maria continued, "The choices which we choose in our lives defines how our lives going to be. Sometimes making choices affects others in our lives whom we care about. It might be too late now to say these things, but I don't want to say my goodbye with this burden in my heart. So, I want to let you know that you were always been my world and will always remain my whole world. I always wanted to protect you, I always wanted to make the world a happy place for you, but I was so occupied to bring you all the happiness that I forgot about the choices I was making. Sometimes I thought, if we would have stayed in the slums, we might not have enough food to eat, but we would have been satisfied with whatever we eat. Unfortunately, it's too late now, and I can only ask you for your forgiveness. Please forgive me for I was unable to be a good brother, please forgive me that I led you to Lab C, and please forgive me for I was unable to ask for your forgiveness in front of you.

Yours foolishly,

Henry"

When they finished the letter, Maria's and Danny's eyes were filled with tears. And suddenly they heard some noises coming from out of the cave. The old man which tried to kill the chimera had brought a group of the villagers equipped with weapons to kill her. "Come out you monster, your time has come," The old man fiercely shouted from outside while the mob was accompanying him.

When Boris, Danny, and Maria looked around for the chimera, they couldn't find her. "I think she is going toward the exit," Boris said.

"We have to stop her, otherwise the villagers will kill her," Maria looked at her team with a concerned face.

Right after Maria spoke, all of them quickly stood up and ran toward the exit. Meanwhile, Louie, the 14-year-old girl who was turned to a chimera, was only a few steps away from the exit, and she took those few steps. As soon as she stepped out of the cave, the angry mob which was waiting for her outside pierced her with wooden spears, attacked her with various weapons. All the rage they had against her was unleashed that night. She fell on the mild snow floor, while the sky was sprinkling snowflakes on her wounded body. She was busy taking her final breathe in that cold weather, remembering the happy time she spent with her brother and trying to forget all the sins she committed as a chimera. She finally regained her memories with only that photograph which was lying in the cave from years, and regaining those memories reminded her that she was a human once.

When the team came out of the cave, it was too late, she was already gone, but the people were still kicking her body, unleashing the infinite rage they had. Watching that, Maria rushed toward the mob and stopped them from kicking her dead body. Now she could only shed some tears after knowing the truth.


	40. Motherhood (Part 1 - Gardenias)

**[Year 1906]**

Roughly 10 months had passed since Oliver was born. Riza was taking care of Oliver with some help from her caretaker, Matilda Becker. Berthold Hawkeye didn't leave any fortune for her after his death, and Roy was long gone from her life, so she had to work to sustain herself and her child. She worked at a nearby flower shop because the owner of the shop agreed to bring her baby with her. The owner used to call her by her middle name instead of her first name, as Elizabeth was also the owner's daughter name who was living in some other part of the country. Because the owner used to call her by her middle name, other people of the town who came to the shop were used to know her by her middle name rather than her first name.

As usual, Riza was at work one day, spraying water on the flowers and Oliver was sleeping in his cradle that the owner of the shop gifted her. Right at that moment, she heard a man's voice. "Can I have some flower Ms.?"

Riza turned to find out who was it. She saw a bearded man with clouded eyes was standing very quietly. Riza instantly recognized him. It was Krid Novak, the same blind man who was being surveilled by Roy for a week. Riza was a little afraid at first because she knew some terrifying things about him which Roy told her during his mission, but she managed to calm down and replied, "What flower would you like Sir?"

"What flower is the most fragrant according to you?" Krid asked.

Riza took a deep breath to forget all the terrible history what Roy had told her. Then she answered, "Personally I think Gardenia is the most fragrant one, but people generally prefer flowers which are good looking and fragrant at the same time."

"I can't see if you haven't noticed, so fragrance is the only thing I am here for," Krid smiled.

Riza quickly realized her mistake, and apologized, "Sorry Sir, I didn't mean to-"

But before she could complete her sentence, Krid interrupted. "It's alright, you don't need to apologize. Now, it will be great if you can please give me a bouquet of Gardenias," He smiled.

"Sure," Riza smiled back and began to gather some gardenias. She then made a bouquet out of the flowers and brought the bouquet near Krid so that he could feel the bouquet. "Here Mr. Novak, your flowers. Keep them in a vase with some water, and they will last a bit longer," she said.

Krid took the bouquet and thanked her by saying, "Thank you for the advice, Ms.?" He waited for an answer which Riza understood within a moment.

"You can call me Elizabeth," She replied.

Right at that moment, Oliver started crying as he woke up from his slumber. "Is it your baby?" Krid asked politely.

"Yes, that's my son. Now, if you will excuse me for a moment?" She said in hurry and rushed toward her son to pick him up from the cradle. She carried him on her arms, putting his head on her shoulder, and softly patted him on his back to stop his cry.

When Oliver calmed down a bit after feeling his mother's warmth, Krid asked, "How old is he?"

"He is just 10 months old," Riza replied.

But when Riza thought her son calmed down, Oliver cried more loudly. Hearing the baby's sharp cry, Krid chuckled and said, "It seems he seeks your complete attention." He then offered money for the flowers he bought. "Here, take the money and don't worry about the change," He said.

Riza held Oliver in one arm, so she took the amount with the other hand and thanked Krid.

Soon after that, Krid left and Riza entered inside a room to feed her baby. After some time, when she was finished feeding Oliver, she tried to lull him to put him to sleep, but he was not interested to sleep. He kept on clinging to his mother by holding her dress with his tiny hands. Riza couldn't force him to leave her so she took him out of the room and sat at the flower shop holding him. Because there was no customer around, she started playing with her son. She was too much into playing with her baby that she didn't pay attention to the surrounding.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. "Does he always disturbs you like this?" Matilda asked.

Riza recognized the voice and looked at the person with a grin. She then carried Oliver in her arms and stood up. "I like it when he disturbs me like this," She replied. Then she walked closer to Matilda and questioned, "So, were you missing Oli?"

Matilda took Oliver from Riza's arms and Oliver didn't even retaliate. "I was missing both of you, I couldn't wait till you come home so, I came here…you know I can help you sell flowers, but then, people prefer a pretty young lady than a pretty old one to buy flowers from," She finished her answer with a joke.

Riza burst into laughter. She covered her mouth to hold her laugh but, when Oliver laughed watching his mother laugh, showing his newly grown frontal teeth, even Matilda burst into laughter. After sometime when they were tired of laughing, Matilda said, "There is something I want to talk to you about."

Riza looked curiously at Matilda and asked, "Is it something important?"

"Yes…a mail from the military came today," She replied and saw Riza gulp now that the secret was out. She then looked at Riza with a concerned face, and questioned, "Are you joining the military?"

Riza closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she opened her eyes and exhaled to calm down. "Yes, I thought I can raise Oli properly if I do a real job," She answered.

Matilda looked at Riza with widened eyes and spoke with haste, "You can help me sell cupcakes and bread. You can raise him here. There is no need to join the military for that."

"I think it's the only way to make this world a better place," Riza said.

Riza couldn't believe that after such a long time, she would quote Roy, and because of which Matilda would get angry. "Do you know how stupid you sound? Your world is here, and I am carrying your world in my arms right now," Matilda scolded, because of which Riza lowered her head. Matilda saw Riza's lowered head and sighed to calm down. "Why don't you talk to me before you take a decision like this?" Matilda asked with a concerned voice.

Riza rose her head and replied, "If I would have talked to you then you would have never let me apply for the military."

"You are correct," Matilda said with a stiff face and bluntly.

Riza sighed and explained, "Military was the only good job I could find. With a job in the military, I can raise Oli properly…My grandfather is in the military, I think he can help me out with Oli."

Matilda understood that she was not going to change her mind. She gave Oliver to Riza and didn't talk to her for some time. She kept on watching and touching the flowers instead of talking to Riza, and Riza was looking at Matilda for a response while holding Oliver in her arms. And then she heard the old woman's voice which she was waiting for. "Do they have any facilities for single mothers?" Matilda asked without facing her.

"There should be…besides that, I will have a good salary to raise Oli and there are good schools in the cities as well," Riza replied excitedly.

"I don't think I can ever change your mind," Matilda turned around, and offered the mail from the military she brought with her to Riza, "Here." When Riza took the letter from Matilda's hand, Matilda informed, "They have asked you to report after 2 weeks…I guess I have to take care of Oliver for some time all by myself then?"

Riza opened the mail and said while looking at the letter, "Good thing, the women training camp is in the next town so, I will be able to come very often."

"Hope you make this world a better place… and remember to punch hard that bastard on the face if you meet him," Matilda glowered.

Riza laughed at her statement, and said with a smile, "You don't need to tell me that."


	41. Motherhood (Part 2 - Tough Guy)

After 2 weeks of receiving the letter from the military, Riza left for the women military training campus at Gabur, which was the next to Riza's hometown. And like every mother, it was hard for her to leave her child with someone else even though Matilda was the one who took care of her through her childhood to her adulthood. Maybe it was because of newly found mother in her that was thinking that her child was only safe in her embrace.

When she joined at the women training campus, she used to get one holiday a week. And she used those holidays to come home and love her son which she couldn't do the other 6 days. Even after the tough competition among the newly recruited military women, she managed to top her batch, because the desire to give a better life to son fueled her. She did very well in almost all the activities, but her skill with guns was unmatched. The trainers who observed her considered that her precision and handling of guns was on par with the top snipers that ever lived in Amestris. Besides her dedication toward training, she also made some friends, thanks to her work experience at the flower shop. However, she never talked about Oliver with any of her friends. And nobody in the training camp had ever had the doubt that she was a mother.

Time kept on flying, and Oliver was now almost 2 years old. But, the civil war in Ishval was far from over. In fact, there were too many casualties on both sides. And then one day, King Bradley issued order 3066, which was to send the state alchemists into the front lines to act as human weapons. State alchemists were obviously a force to be reckoned with, but still, they needed some help to look after their back in the battlefield. However, the war had reduced the number of snipers drastically, so, the military took in some fresh snipers from various military training camp. And because Riza was the best sniper in her camp, it was inevitable for her to not get selected.

Before leaving for war, she went to meet Oliver and her caretaker Matilda without informing Matilda. Matilda was living in a small house where she baked cakes and cupcakes for a living. Like every day, that day also, she was baking some cupcakes and Oliver was playing with some toys on the ground. When Matilda put a set of cupcakes inside the oven and turned around, she found that Oliver was not there. She panicked and shouted "Oli…Oli" and ran outside the kitchen. As soon as she got out of the kitchen, she saw Riza was holding him in her arms, and giving kisses to him. Oliver was laughing with his eyes closed and bared teeth in his mother's arm. Matilda smiled when she saw the unconditional love of Riza for her child. "Did they give you a day or two off?" She asked.

"Kind of," Riza replied.

"I am glad that your training campus is in the next town," Matilda said.

"Yes, I am very lucky," Riza sat on the sofa present there. She leaned Oliver on her lap and looked at him with a duck face. "Ain't I lucky my baby?" She kissed Oliver on his belly button to make him laugh out loud.

She looked at her son's joyful face for a while. Then she left Oliver to play with the newly bought toys she brought for him. When Oliver got engaged with the new toys, she looked at Matilda and said, "I need to tell you something"

"What is it?" Matilda asked curiously.

"The thing is-" Riza lowered her head and hesitated to proceed.

The hesitation in Riza's voice made Matilda worry. She looked at Riza with widened eyes and said, "Don't tell me that you are pregnant once more."

Riza instantly raised up her head and looked at Matilda with narrowed eyes. "What! No," She clarified. She paused for a moment and averted her eyes before speaking the next sentence. "The thing is, the military needed some snipers at Ishval. So, I have been assigned to Ishval until the war is over," she said.

Matilda was shocked after knowing the truth. She couldn't speak for a moment, and after sometime when she spoke, she spoke very slowly and calmly. "So, you are going to war," she said.

"Yes, I have no choice. They needed snipers, and if I deny going then they will label me as a deserter and punish me for the same," She explained while still averting her eyes from Matilda.

Matilda got enraged, remembering the time when she was not happy with Riza joining the military. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO OLI IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO YOU?" She yelled.

Because of the shout even Oliver stopped playing and looked at Matilda with a curious face. Tears started forming in Riza's eyes when she thought about the possibility of her death and leaving her son an orphan. "Yes, that's why I have come to see you and Oli in case I never see you again. Please take care of Oli and raise him to be a good man if something happens to me," She spoke in a heavy voice and continued after wiping the drops of tears forming in her eyes, "and don't let him join the military."

Matilda looked at Riza's sad face and calmed down. "Why are you doing this to this child? First, his father left, he doesn't even know that he has a son. Now, you are going to a place from where you may never come," she said.

"I guess, I have also become the dog of the military just like him," She chuckled sadly.

There was a silence in the room for some time. Matilda sat beside Riza and held her hand. "So, when are you leaving for Ishval?" Matilda asked politely.

"Tomorrow morning," Riza replied.

"WHAT! WE JUST HAVE TODAY?" Matilda shouted out of surprise.

Next morning Riza was wearing her uniform, ready to leave for Ishval. She was holding Oliver in her arms while Matilda was standing in front of her to see her off. "Ms. Becker…please take good care of Oli, and if I don't come…you can reach out to my grandfather. Also…I have put my house's paper at the East City bank so that when he is old enough he will inherit the house," Riza said.

"Just stop saying stupid things already. I know you will come back," Matilda smiled.

"Sure I will," Riza smiled back and continued, "Wish I had a photograph of Oli."

And right at that moment, Oliver kissed her mother on her cheek which surprised Riza. She looked at him and started laughing, and after some time her laugh turned to tears. "I guess, memories are enough then," she sobbed mildly.

Then she kissed Oliver and gave him to Matilda but, Oliver was not ready to leave his mother. He kept on clinging to her uniform. Riza would never remove her son's hand by force, but that day she had to remove his tiny hands from her uniform. After that when she picked up her luggage, Oliver was still trying to reach his mother. Oliver was fighting desperately with Matilda to reach his mother, but Matilda was not letting him do so. When simply fighting didn't work, he started crying out loud while trying to reach his mother with both his hands.

The mere sight of her child to reach her so desperately, shattered her heart. "Don't cry tough guy," She sobbed and continued after few hiccups, "If you will cry, you are going to make mama weak."

After saying that, she turned around and walked away. She tried to wipe out the tears from her eyes, but the tears were not ready to stop anytime soon. It was the same on the other side where Oliver and Matilda were crying while sending off Riza.


	42. Motherhood (Part 3 - The Ruin)

**[Early 1909]**

The civil war of Ishval changed Riza as a person. Killing people whom she was supposed to protect on an everyday basis filled her with guilt, and she was unable to find a way to atone for her sins. Many times Riza had the urge to kill herself, but the desire to meet her son kept her alive. Shooting dummies and shooting real people are totally different things. Whenever she killed people from the shadows, she had to make a choice, either it was to save her strong ally or kill her weak enemy. And making the choice was tough yet simple.

After order 3066, the Ishvalan war was not a war anymore, it was more of extermination of Ishvalan people. Due to this, some soldiers felt the guilt of killing innocent people, some of whom were women and children. Some soldiers committed suicide for taking part in this genocide and some soldiers had reason to live even though the burden was overwhelming.

Riza met Roy and Maes Hughes at the battlefield. Roy knew that she had joined the war, but when he saw her right in front of her, his long frozen heart shattered instead of feeling the warmth. The only reason he shut himself out from Riza became the sole reason to meet her again. When he looked into her eyes he saw a killer just like him. When he looked at her hands he saw scratches and cuts because those hands had familiarized themselves with guns and knives instead of flowers.

Soon the Ishvalan civil war ended because when the state alchemists joined the war, it became a massacre. On the last day in Ishval, when the military troops were returning, Riza was burying someone before she could leave to meet her son. The face which should be smiling to meet her son was mourning at the death of some stranger. And then a familiar voice disturbed her mourning, "You coming back? You'll be left behind," Roy informed from behind and then asked after watching the grave, "Who's that? A war buddy?"

"No, it's... It's an Ishvalan child... One left dead with nowhere to call home," Riza lamented while sitting near the grave.

Roy could understand her pain, but he couldn't do anything to wash her sins away because he was as sinful as she was. "Let's go... The war is over now," Roy said with a stressed voice.

"The fighting maybe, but the nightmares of what we did in this place are far from over. They'll stay with me for as long as I live...I believed in you, trusted you with my father's research, and I applied to the military academy because I hoped to help other people. The way things turned out...it's not what I wanted, but there's no escaping the truth. I can never atone for the suffering I've caused...I have a favor to ask, Mustang. Please, burn this off... deface my back," She requested while looking at him with her sad eyes.

Roy looked at her with widened eyes. "How could I ever do something?" He denied.

"At least… I may not ever be able to atone, but at least I can destroy the secrets on my back. There can be no more flame alchemist… Can you do this? If so, please release me. I want you to set me free from my father's burden. Please set me free from my father's alchemy. I am begging you," Riza looked at Roy, while her eyes were clearly showing the agony of her heart.

From the first day they met, neither Riza asked about the reason Roy left her, nor Roy ever explained the reason by himself. Both were far deep into the pool of sins they committed that their own personal problem was insignificant before that, still, there was some spark of love alive in between them which was making them care for each other. And because of that love, Roy didn't want to fulfill Riza's request. He was shivering with discomfort, but after feeling the desperation in Riza's voice, he clenched his fist to gather courage and replied, "Alright…I will leave as little traces as I can-"

A smile of comfort appeared on Riza's face after Roy's answer. "Thank you… thank you so much," she said. She then put some weed flowers which she plucked out from the ground on the grave of that child before leaving.

When they reached to the transportation area, they found out that everyone was gone. "Guess, we have to get to the station on our own," Roy sighed.

Fortunately, they found a horse cart. The cart driver took them to the Ishvalan border and directed them to go straight for 12 miles to the nearest village and they could take a train from there. After walking through a grassy area for 5 miles, it was about to get dark, so they decided to halt at a place which looked like a ruin. There was one more train to East City the next day so, they planned to catch that train.

The ruin where they took shelter was of some old temple which was destroyed a long time ago. It was surrounded by fungi and weeds, and the structure was covered with flora all over it. The place seemed like it was not visited by any human for a long time.

The sun was almost set, so they gathered some woods and took out the food supply they had left during the war. And after they had dinner, both of them sat before the fire. It was a bit awkward for them to be alone after such a long time, and Roy was afraid to start any conversation after what he did to Riza 3 years ago. So, he was looking at the fire, avoiding any eye contact with Riza. He was thinking about a proper way to apologize to her, but he could not say anything. Meanwhile, Riza called him by his first name, "Roy".

Roy instantly raised his head and looked at her. He looked at Riza, but he couldn't see any spark in her eyes. He understood what she was about to say, but he waited for her to say. "Can you please do that here? It seems like this is an isolated place," Riza reminded Roy his promise.

There was silence for a while. One could clearly listen to the slowly moving leaves due to the breeze and the sound of cracking woods in the fire. Roy's heart was pounding like a steam engine which was going to explode at no time, still, he gathered courage and replied, "Alright."

Riza quickly took out the first aid kit she had as if she was desperate to remove her father's research work at all cost. She put the first aid kit beside her and removed her top. Roy was the only person in the whole world before whom she could undress without hesitation because he comforted her when she showed him the tattoo on her back, which she felt like a burden and disgrace.

After opening her top she removed the strap of her bra to completely bare her back, and she held the bra on the front. Her back was facing Roy and he was looking at the tattoo. He wanted to kiss her back like the last time he did. He wanted to hug her and never let her go, but time and the choices they made had changed everything. He took a deep breath and said, "Tell me when you're ready."

"I am ready," Riza then took a piece of cloth and put it in her mouth.

Roy wore his gloves and waited for a moment. It was very difficult for him to hurt her. When he was not taking any action for some time, Riza understood. She removed the piece of cloth from her mouth and said very politely, "It's alright Roy. It was my decision to do this…You are not hurting me. You are releasing me from the long-held burden that my father put on me." She then put back the cloth in her mouth.

After a moment, Roy snapped and a portion of the tattoo was burning. Blisters appeared on the skin and finally the muscle tissue was visible, the stench of human flesh was in the air. On watching that, he quickly grabbed the water and antiseptic solution and washed the burn to cool it. While he was trying to lessen her pain, Riza spoke in agony, "Please… go on."

Roy gulped and took a deep breath. He then snapped once more and another small portion burnt off. He again washed the burns but, this time he felt like he couldn't do it anymore, he had no courage left to keep going on. But, Riza on the other end was still eager to suffer more. "Please… go on," She requested while she was enduring the pain.

"I can't… I have left as little traces as possible… no one can recreate the formula out of this," Roy denied while averting his eyes from watching Riza's burnt skin.

Riza didn't speak for a moment. She understood that Roy was regretting the actions he took, even though she was the one who asked him into it. After a moment she removed the piece of cloth from her mouth and said, "If you say it's enough, then it should be," She turned around while she was sitting, to look at Roy and continued with a forced smile, "Thank you, Roy. Thank you so much."

Roy was still not looking at her. He didn't want to see what he did to her. "I think we should put some bandages on the burns," He proposed.

Then he walked toward the place where the first aid kit was kept and took out the necessary things to attend to her burns. He helped her apply a bandage and dress her up but, the pain from the burn was not gone. There was no painkiller or any proper medicine to apply to her burns. Riza was trying to hide her pain, but Roy could clearly see through it and there was nothing he could do to ease her pain. While he was thinking about the best course of action he should take, Riza said, "I think we should sleep."

Roy quickly stood up without saying anything and unpacked Riza's sleeping bag. He then helped her to get into it, and once it was done, he slept on his sleeping bag with his hands behind the back of his head. He was watching the ceiling, thinking about the conflict between his decisions to join the military and following the orders to kill the innocents. He was thinking about the conflict between his promises to protect his master's daughter and then hurting her both emotionally and physically. On the other side, Riza slept with her back faced to Roy and smiled for the fact that the man was still in love with her.


	43. Motherhood (Part 4 - Dummy)

An Ishvalan woman was running with explosives attached to her waist toward a group of soldiers who were resting on the ground, not knowing about the danger approaching them, and behind that woman, a 6-7-year-old boy was running. Riza could see the suicidal woman, the boy, and the Amestrian soldiers. If she was going to kill the woman, the boy might die, but if she wouldn't kill the woman, the soldiers would die. The only constant was the woman, no matter what, she was sure to die. Riza had no choice but to save her comrades, so she shot the woman. The woman fell on the ground and the explosives attached to her exploded. There was dust all around, and then she saw all the soldiers were awake looking toward the blast area with surprise.

In order to find out whether the child was alive, she ran toward the incident area. When she reached there, there were pieces of limbs and guts everywhere, it was definitely of the woman's. Riza became restless, she was desperately trying to find out the boy while the soldiers she saved were looking at her confusingly. After some time, the dust cleared and she saw the boy was lying on the ground. She got closer to him and found out that his right hand was destroyed, his belly was wounded and blood was coming out of his mouth. Riza quickly held the boy and put his head on her lap. She tore a piece of fabric from her uniform and tried to stop the bleedings.

The boy could barely speak, but with all his might he was saying, "Help me….please help me….I want to live". Riza wanted to help him but, that child was beyond help, and no medical team was nearby. When she looked at soldiers whom she saved, she found that they were no more there. She again looked at the boy to help him in any way, but there was nothing she could do besides comforting him at his last moments. The boy was crying and murmuring something, the sound was very low and was not audible so, she closed in her ears to his mouth to find out what he was saying. The boy was repeating the same word again and again, "WHY?" And with each repetition, the sound was fading and after a few repetitions, the murmuring stopped. She looked at the boy, his eyes were still, his body was cold, and there was no pulse. She was holding the boy while tears were falling from her eyes. Sometime later, a soldier came to her while the boy was still on her lap, and informed her that the Amestrian military won the war.

Then out of the blue, she found herself digging a grave for the dead boy. After digging the grave, she gently put the boy in that grave, and she halted for a moment to stop her crying. She was closing her eyes when suddenly she heard a very familiar voice saying, "mama…mama". She instantly opened her eyes and saw her son in the grave. She could see that Oliver's right hand was destroyed, his belly was bleeding, and he was spitting blood. Then he started crying out loud, uttering the words, "Why mama why?"

Riza was no more shedding tears to mourn the child, instead, she was terrified to her soul and sweating a lot. She was panting and murmuring, "OLI", when she heard Roy's voice, calling by her first name "Riza." And with that, she opened her eyes and realized that she was having a nightmare.

She realized that she was still with Roy in the ruin of a temple where they were taking shelter. Roy was looking at her with a concerned face and asked, "Did you have a bad dream?"

Riza slowly sat up and replied after calming down, "Yes."

"Ishval?" Roy enquired.

Riza answered with a "Yes."

And then suddenly someone interrupted them, "Are you two soldiers?"

Roy and Riza were not expecting anyone in that ruin present at nowhere. They were startled when they heard the voice and instantly looked at the person. They saw a blonde young man in his late twenties was sitting on a fallen part of that temple. The man had short hairs and he was wearing civil attire which was out of fashion a few centuries ago.

Roy and Riza were confused about looking that man. Meanwhile, the man introduced himself, "Pardon me for disturbing you like this. My name is Dummy."

First, the sudden appearance and then introducing himself as someone named Dummy was not convincing for Roy and Riza. They didn't know what to say to that stranger who appeared so late at night in an abandoned place. If it would have been any normal person, then they would be panicked to the guts after getting into these type of circumstances, but Roy and Riza were composed. They were just a bit surprised.

When none of them spoke, Dummy said, "Am I looking weird?" He stood up and started walking toward them.

Upon watching that Roy put his gloves on and Riza grabbed her rifle. "Stop right there or else I will make you toast," Roy threatened.

Dummy stopped instantly and said, "What! If I were to hurt you I could have done it while you were sleeping. I came here because I sensed alchemy... and because the lady was screaming."

"What do you mean you sensed alchemy? There is no way you could have seen the small spark I created…unless you were here all along," Roy enquired.

"I can sense it, Mr. Soldier, just believe me," Dummy replied.

In the meantime, Riza interrupted, "Why are you here?"

"I should be the one asking you that question. I have been coming to this place from quite a long time, but I have never seen people spending their night here," Dummy answered.

"We had no option but to take shelter here. However, it seems like people generally don't come here, so why do you?" Riza asked.

"Some memories bring me here," Dummy replied, and then noticed the bandage on Riza's body. Besides that, he saw the drops of sweat on her forehead and neck.

"It seems like you are in pain, let me help you," Dummy said and started walking closer to Riza. But, as soon as he took his first step, Roy threatened, "Don't you dare come near her."

Dummy stopped at the place he was standing and noticed the burns which were not covered by the bandages. "I am pretty sure, you are the one who burnt her…and the one who put these bandages…what an odd couple you are," Dummy smiled with his eyes closed and shaking his head out of disbelief.

"That's none of your business," Riza interrupted fiercely.

"Definitely it isn't…Well take this, it will ease your pain and help you sleep," he threw a small bottle toward Riza and continued, "Take a sip and it will suppress the pain."

He then turned around and began to leave. He knew that Riza was hesitating to take the content present inside the bottle. So he spoke in a loud voice while leaving, "If I wanted to kill you, I could have done it already."

After Dummy left, Roy looked toward Riza who was looking at the bottle confusingly. "Please don't drink that," He requested.

"Don't worry, I was not going to," Riza confirmed.

She threw the bottle for Roy's sake and lied down to sleep. Roy on the other side was still sitting. "Hey Riza," Roy called while he was facing his back to Riza.

Riza answered with a tired voice, "Hmm?"

"Do you remember the things I told you when we were standing in front of your father's grave?" Roy asked.

Riza's tiredness instantly disappeared when she heard the question. "Yes," She replied.

"Do you still believe in me… that I can still make this country a better place so that things like Ishval don't happen again?" Roy questioned.

"I always believed in that Roy Mustang," She answered.

Roy heaved a sigh of relief and turned around. He then looked at her and smirked. "So how are you going to do that…rule this country?" Riza joked.

"There is no one better than you who knows that becoming the King of this country was my childhood dream. But…now I think it has become a necessity to save this country…Well If you think I am greedy then let me promise this to you, that I will become the King only to make this country a democracy," Roy said with solid intent and avoiding eye contact with Riza out of embarrassment.

When Roy looked at Riza, he saw that she was sitting and her eyes were wide open out of surprise. "You do know what does that mean right?" Riza asked with a bit loudness.

"I am well aware of that… Instead of war heroes, we will be considered mass murderers and will be put to trial," Roy replied and looked into Riza's eyes and continued, "Riza… you were right…we cannot atone for what we did. But, we owe this country this much at least."

Riza looked at him, he seemed focused, and he had a dream to achieve, which could atone for both of their sins. She looked directly into his eyes and smiled.

Meanwhile Roy said, "Riza…I want to ask you something. I hoped that you would be leading a happy life but, I suppose destiny had already written something else in our lives. I can't change the things that have happened, and I don't expect the scars to heal anytime soon which I left 3 years ago. You got every right to hate me, but can you please be by my side and help me make this country what we dreamt of?... To be honest, you are still the only person to whom I can trust my actions and life." After listening to those words, Riza blushed while Roy continued speaking, "I want you to be my aide and personal assistant. That means you can shoot me if you ever think I am deviating from my goal. Can you do that?"

Riza couldn't feel the pain which she was initially in. The feeling she had was a bit unusual. 3 years ago when Roy proposed her for marriage, she felt very happy and fortunate. But, this time he asked her to guide him through his dreams of making a better world and trusted his life on her. He asked her in such a manner as if he cared for her judgment and life more than his own.

Because of such purity in Roy's tone, Riza said in a few moments with a smile, "I can definitely do that because I believe in you and your dreams."

Some time passed, and both of them were still awake. Riza was lying on her sleeping bag and staring at the ceiling, while Roy was sitting on guard. And suddenly, Roy asked a question hesitantly which was bugging him from some time, "By the way…who is Oli?"

"He is someone very dear to me," Riza replied.

Roy got a bit jealous from inside, still, he tried to compose himself and said, "I am happy for you Riza. I really-"

Riza could easily identify the fake emotions Roy was showing, after all, she knew him from childhood. So, before he could keep going on, she interrupted by scolding, "Go to sleep Major."

Roy chuckled hesitantly and replied with a fake smile, "I am on guard."

Riza didn't even bother to persuade him to sleep and closed her eyes to take some rest.


	44. Motherhood (Part 5 - Home)

After spending the night at the ruins of a temple, Roy and Riza left for the railway station in the early morning. Even though Riza had suffered the burns, it was Roy who was looking like a mess because he was guarding Riza the whole night. When they arrived at the station, they found out that some soldiers who left a day before them were still waiting at the station for some reason. They went inside the station to find out the reason but before they could talk to anyone, they heard a familiar voice, "My doubt was correct. You two are not just friends," Maes said and continued teasing, "I never thought my buddy Roy would find a girl, but now that I see you, he found a girl and a very beautiful one at that."

Riza couldn't even react properly, whereas Roy got annoyed in his tired state. "Stop it, Maes. You have the right to torment me, not her," Roy interrupted with an exhausted voice.

Maes noticed the dark circles below Roy's eyes, so he calmed down and asked, "Haven't you taken any sleep last night?"

"He was on guard last night," Riza answered instead.

"Guarding?" Maes looked at Riza with a raised eyebrow.

"I was wounded so, he was guarding me while I was asleep. I requested him not to but, he didn't listen to me," Riza replied.

"I see," Maes acknowledged and continued, "Roy is a good person Ms. Hawkeye, he cares about some people more than he should. We have been close friends for quite a sometime now, but he never told me about you. Whatever may be the reason," He grinned slowly and shouted with an excited voice, "but you will make a great wife. I am telling you this because my dear friend doesn't have the courage to tell you that by himself."

Riza started chuckling very uncomfortable while Maes continued, "You are the first woman for whom he left me all alone. He-"

"STOP IT YOU IDIOT," Roy yelled at Maes while glaring at him.

Maes stopped right at the moment and even Riza stopped laughing. Watching that, the sudden burst of energy from Roy's face disappeared and he again got quite. Maes and Riza waited for a moment for Roy to speak up due to the rage he showed, but Roy kept quiet with the tiredness engulfing all over his face. So, Maes and Riza talked for some time without involving Roy. Maes was talking very differently with Riza where he mentioned Gracia, his fiancée, only a few times and Riza was comfortable having the conversation. After some time, the train arrived at the station and Riza had to go to the woman compartment to get a seat. Before she left, Maes asked, "So, where will you go?"

"Home. I will have to take another train in between," Riza replied. "Meet you later then, Captain Hughes, Major Mustang," She saluted.

"See you soon Hawkeye," Maes said.

Roy nodded his head, and soon after that Riza left for the women compartment. Roy and Maes also went in their coach to take their seats. After getting comfortable, Roy looked at Maes sitting opposite to him and asked, "So, why so many soldiers were waiting today? Did something happened to the second train yesterday?"

"Yes, it was stuck due to a landslide. By the way, I sent some soldiers and a vehicle when I reached the station, to pick you and Riza but, they didn't find you," Maes informed.

"We took a different route," Roy said.

"To spend some time with her alone, aren't you a naughty boy," Maes raised one of his eyebrows and smirked to tease Roy. Roy, on the other hand, kept quiet and kept gazing out of the window while the train left the station.

After some time, Maes asked calmly, "She is the one, isn't she? Back in the training days, you were quite happy, maybe it was because of her."

Roy looked at Maes with the tired face he had and suddenly his expression changed. He said with widened eyes, "Am I so predictable?"

"I ain't your best buddy for nothing, Major Mustang," Maes said with a smug look.

Roy smiled for that fact that his friend knew him so well. "Well, things have changed Maes…I am not brave like you who can smile in front of her after what happened at Ishval. I never had the guts to talk to her after I killed those defenseless women in Central City," Roy said.

"Yet destiny brought her in front of you so that you can win her back. If you want any help, then I can be your wingman," Maes smirked.

"You think I was happy watching her at Ishval?" Roy averted his eyes by looking at the floor and gritted his teeth. "She is barely 21 Maes and she was forced to join the war…I never wanted her to join the military but, she joined, and maybe I was the reason for that. I told her that, the military is the noblest profession one can ever have…what do you think Maes? Should I have been happy watching her? I couldn't see a smile on her face…her hands were stained with blood, just like you and me and I blame myself for all of that," Roy said with a pained voice.

Maes looked at Roy. Roy was in agony because of that conversation so, he decided not to talk on that subject anymore. He paused for a few minutes and then he asked Roy a question which he knew would annoy Roy but, take his mind off from whatever bad memories he was remembering. "Hey Roy, do you want me to read you a lovely letter that Gracia sent to me? I never read this to you," Maes said excitedly.

"No Maes, don't you dare read that to me. I have already heard a lot of those letters," Roy threatened in a scared voice.

Even after requesting a lot, Maes didn't listen to him and read the letter to him and, after that, he again started another letter. He made sure that, his friend doesn't dive into the bad memories during the long journey. Roy felt asleep in between and after long hours of travel, they reached Central City. The family members, friends and loved ones of the soldiers were in the station to receive them. Everyone was happy who returned home safe but, some families were also there who came to the station even after knowing that the person for whom they were waiting was never going to return.

When Maes and Roy got off the train, Maes looked out for Gracia, but he was unable to locate her. "She said in her letter that she was going to pick me up from the train station," Maes said.

And right at that moment, they heard a woman's voice. "Maes," Gracia called from a distance.

When Maes and Gracia saw each other after such a long time, they got emotional and gave into the moment. There was no need to contain their love in the letters anymore. Maes ran toward Gracia shouting "Gracia…GRACIA" letting all his emotions flow at that moment, and hugged her with so much love as if it was the last time he was going to hug her. Roy watched his friend uniting with the woman he loved which he could not do. He remembered what Maes said during the war, "I will swallow all the horrible things I have done here…I will smile when I am with her". And then he looked at his hands remembering all the horrible things he did at Ishval, and he remembered the night when he hurt her.

"Hughes," he thought, "you are a strong man. A much stronger man than I will ever be." He then left the station without bothering his friend to come back and say him a goodbye.

On the other side, Riza reached her home too, where Matilda and Oliver were waiting for her. Matilda was very happy that she returned safely. And Oliver who was now around two and a half-year-old came running toward his mother upon watching her. Riza put her bag on the floor and sat on her knees before Oliver could reach her. And when Oliver was about to hug her, she hugged him and kissed him. "How is my tough guy?" She said with affection and picked him up while standing.

"You are looking exhausted," Matilda commented.

"I couldn't sleep properly last night," Riza informed.

"Should I prepare some food or you want to take some rest?" Matilda asked.

Riza looked at Oliver with a duck face and replied, "First I will play with my baby boy."

Riza put Oliver on the sofa and started tickling him, and Oliver started laughing. Watching that, Matilda smiled and went into the kitchen to bring Riza some water. Riza spent time with her son to her heart's content, and after having dinner she lulled Oliver to sleep. After that, she went out and sat on the stairs of the veranda looking toward the moon with a cup of coffee. Matilda also joined her by sitting beside her with a cup of coffee. "I thought you were tired," Matilda said.

"I couldn't sleep… whenever I close my eyes, I see people dying, children crying, guts and blood everywhere," Riza took a sip from the cup.

"War has always been like that, kill or be killed, and in my opinion, you choose the correct option," Matilda tried to comfort Riza.

"I felt a small boy, a little older than Oli, taking his last breath in my arms. It was quite painful," she spoke with a cracking voice. She then stopped for a moment to calm down and said, "You may think I came back from war alive and well but, the girl you once knew, died there…the person came back is a killer."

"Stop blaming yourself, you had no option," Matilda tried to soothe her pain.

In the meantime, Riza told something which startled Matilda. "I am going to East City and I want you to take care of Oliver from now on."

Matilda stopped the cup which was about to reach her lips and looked at Riza with widened eyes. When she saw Riza calmly looking at the moon, she calmed down as well and said, "You sure are a complicated girl. I thought you were going to take Oli with you." She then took a sip of coffee from the cup.

"I could have, but I am going to serve as the aide and personal assistant to Roy Mustang," Riza informed, and as soon as Matilda heard that, she spat all the coffee in her mouth.

"WHAT!" Matilda looked at Riza with widened eyes. Meanwhile, Riza continued, "And if someone finds out that Oli is Roy's and my son then I won't be able to work under him."

"Are you out of your mind? After all the things he did to you, you are still going to help him? Are you under some kind of spell of him?" Matilda scolded.

Riza looked at Matilda with her pained eyes and said calmly, "I have seen the same agony in his eyes which I felt at the war, and I don't know from how long he is in pain… We did unforgivable things at Ishval for which we can never atone," She paused and looked at Matilda with a stiff face. "And if that man is trying to do something to stop all these meaningless wars and save this country, then I am going to be by his side no matter what. I don't care even if he loves me or not. If he loves this country then that is enough for me," she said.

Matilda was amazed at watching such a changed Riza. "So, you are ready to leave Oliver for Roy?" Matilda asked.

"I am never going to leave Oli, Ms. Becker. And Oli will anyways be safer here," Riza replied.


	45. Father & Son (Part 1 - Matilda)

**[Year 1909]**

One month had passed since the Ishval war ended, Roy was now promoted to colonel and was transferred to East City. He was sitting on his desk and was expecting someone who promised him to be by his side to his goal. The door opened and his long wait was over. It was Riza, who was looking confident and determined, whereas Roy was very restless from inside, still, he managed to look composed on the surface.

When Riza entered, she saluted him and stood in attention stance. After a brief moment, Roy said, "So you have decided to take this path after all…even after what you went through in Ishval?"

Riza looked straight toward Roy and answered very formally, "Yes sir. If the world truly operates on the principles of equivalent exchange, then we soldiers have plenty to give back. If this world is meant to prosper, then it is our duty to carry the bodies of the dead across the river of blood to their resting place."

After listening to her seemingly prepared philosophical answer, Roy stood up and said calmly, "From now on, I am assigning you to be my assistant. I feel like I can trust you to watch my back. Although you understand what this means. You will be able to shoot me in the back as well. If I ever deviate from this path, then I want you to shoot me, and I trust you to do so… Do you accept my offer?"

Riza replied within a blink of an eye and without hesitation, "Of course I do Sir. I will follow you into hell if you ask me to."

Roy remembered the time he and Riza were in bed and Riza promised him that she would be by his side no matter what, and he replied to her by joking that she should join the military. He smirked very faintly and said, "You may go now."

Riza saluted him and turned back. She walked toward the door, but before she could open the door, Roy called her by her first name, "Riza."

Riza understood that something personal was coming. She lowered her head and bit her lower lip. She didn't turn around to face Roy for a few moments, but the awkward silence was screaming to her that he was eagerly waiting for her to turn. So, she composed herself and turned around but before Roy could speak, she looked directly into Roy's eyes and said in a stoic voice, "With all due respect Sir, I will appreciate if you can address me as your subordinate from now on, and not some girl you used to know."

Roy's eyes were widened, he didn't expect such a bold response. When he looked into her eyes, he saw the still eyes of a responsible woman and not the joyful eyes of a shy girl he used to know. The tides of time had changed her, she was stronger, resilient and an independent woman now. After a moment, Roy smiled and replied, "Fine. If I not calling you by your first name gives you any satisfaction, then I won't call you by that name anymore. But before our relationship only reduces to mere of a superior and subordinate, I want to unburden myself for the mistakes I committed long ago," he lowered his head and continued with a bit of hesitation in his voice, "I, Roy Mustang…asks for forgiveness to Riza Elizabeth Hawkeye for not keeping the promise I made."

Roy was not looking at Riza, so she smirked and said, "I forgave you the day I met you at Ishval," she turned around. As soon as Roy heard that, he rose his head quickly, and saw Riza walking toward the door. Before leaving she greeted Roy, "See you tomorrow Colonel."

Roy's anxiousness settled down and he responded with a smile, "See you, Officer Hawkeye."

Six months passed since Roy formed his team, and started operating in Eastern city under the command of General Grumman. Riza was now promoted to First Lieutenant due to the vacancy created after the Ishval war and also because she was a war hero. Like most of the days, Roy's team was at the office doing some paperwork and Roy was sitting on his chair. He had rested his head on the upper end of the comfy chair and he was staring at the ceiling. Suddenly, he heard a sharp thump which startled him, and he quickly sat straight. He saw another pile of paperwork besides the pile of paperwork he was working on. And Riza was standing before the desk. "If you start completing your paperwork on time then you didn't have to see the pile getting bigger. Some of the paperwork in the new pile is here because you didn't complete the older ones," Riza informed.

"How can I possibly do all these?" Roy said worriedly while looking at the piles.

"By not sleeping all the time," Riza said bluntly.

Roy looked at Riza who was looking at him with her still eyes, but he could feel the rage boiling inside her. He gulped out of fear and pulled one of the forms from the pile and began looking at it with a pen in one hand. Meanwhile, Riza said, "I want to take leave for two days."

Roy's fear instantly changed to curiosity. He sat properly on his chair and put the pen he was holding on the top of the form he fetched a moment ago. "Why?" He asked.

"I got to attend a funeral," She replied.

Roy got curious because he knew almost everyone whom Riza knew. "Whose?" Roy enquired.

Riza closed her eyes and sighed before answering, "Ms. Becker's."

Roy was shocked. He stood up and looked at Riza with narrowed eyebrows. "How? When? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" He asked anxiously.

"Ms. Becker's daughter informed me yesterday…Sorry, I didn't give you the message earlier," Riza informed.

Roy took a deep breath and fell on his chair. He closed his eyes and started rubbing his forehead with his hand. "It's alright. I am going with you," He said.

Riza didn't want Roy to go with her because if Roy would go then Oliver wouldn't remain a secret anymore. She looked at Roy with widened eyes and spoke with a lost composure, "But your paperwork?"

Roy sat properly and looked at Riza. "It can wait," He answered

Riza understood that he was not going to listen. So, she sighed and said stoically, "Fine. Meet me at the station at 6 AM tomorrow or I will leave alone," and Roy agreed by nodding his head and saying, "hmmm."

Next morning Riza went to the station wearing a civilian dress and holding a handbag. She reached there 15 minutes before 6 AM and searched for Roy but, she couldn't find him. Even when there were only a few minutes left for the departure of the train, she still couldn't find Roy. "Thank God," she thought with a relieved face, "he didn't come."

After that, she reached the entrance to board the train, and right when she was about to step on the first stair of the entrance she heard a familiar voice. "What took you so long?" Roy said.

When Riza raised her head, she saw Roy was standing at the entrance and lending a hand to her with a smirk on his face. He was wearing his usual formal attire whenever he was out of his uniform. On watching Roy, Riza's relaxed faced was stressed again. She looked at him and entered inside without taking his help. "Don't tease me, Colonel," She said while going in.

They walked inside their compartment, closed the door and took their seats facing each other. When the train left, Riza pulled out a book from her handbag and started reading it to avoid any conversation with Roy. But, Roy was not going to waste any opportunity to spend some private time with her. He cleared his throat to get her attention and asked, "Did you find out how she died?"

Riza kept on facing the book and replied with a single word, "No."

But, Roy didn't quit. He said, "It's been quite a long time since I visited your hometown…Meanwhile, I can also meet that Oliver guy."

Riza was terrified from inside even though she had maintained her composure on the surface. However, when she heard Roy's intention, she got nervous and looked at Roy with narrowed eyebrows. "Why do you want to meet him so bad?" She asked annoyingly.

"I just want to know if he is the right person for you," Roy answered politely.

"Colonel, the relationship between me and Oliver is not like what you think," She said anxiously.

"I just want to make sure that if he is not some guy taking advantage of beautiful women," Roy smirked.

"Are you trying to flirt with me?" Riza glared and continued, "Because if you are, then let me remind you, you gave me permission to shoot you if you ever deviate from your path."

Roy started running fingers through his hair while laughing out of fear. "You know I would never do that," He laughed nervously.

When Riza was about to speak, suddenly a man opened the door and entered their compartment. "Hello," He greeted with a smile.

Both Roy and Riza looked at him, but none of them responded. Riza went back to read her book, and Roy slept. The happy stranger, who wanted to talk to them, didn't do so after watching both of their reaction.

After some hours of travel, the train arrived at the destination. Riza and Roy got out of the train. Roy yawned while stretching his hands and said, "It feels good to be back."

"Like always, there's no cart or wagon. Guess we have to walk," Riza spoke with a disappointed face.

"Isn't Ms. Becker's home nearly 2 miles away from here?" Roy asked.

"Yes," Riza replied.

Roy began walking and said, "Walking won't be a problem then."

Riza's hometown was a very less crowded place, even the road where both were walking was almost vacant. While walking, Roy noticed that Riza was a bit uncomfortable, so he enquired politely, "Is something wrong Lieutenant?"

Riza was startled because she was deep into the thought of the revelation which was about to come. She looked at Roy and answered in a panicked voice, "No Sir."

"You can tell me if something is bothering you," Roy said.

Riza looked at Roy with her usual cold face and replied, "As I told you, I am fine Sir."

Through the whole way, they didn't talk to each other, which seemed out of place for Roy because usually, she talked to him during a walk or a long journey. Finally, when they reached their destination, Riza first hesitated to knock at the door, but she had to knock once Roy said, "Shall I?"


	46. Father & Son (Part 2 - World)

Roy and Riza were at Riza's hometown to attend Matilda's funeral, who was the caretaker of Riza throughout her childhood and later became the caretaker of her son. Riza was very nervous that Roy was about to find out the truth about Oliver, because of which a lot of questions were flooding in her mind. When she knocked at the door of Matilda's home, she was praying from inside that Oliver didn't show up. And after a few moments, a long-haired brunette middle-aged woman opened the door. She was wearing a black dress and she had a small braid. "Yes?" The woman looked curiously at Roy and Riza.

"Hello Ma'am, I am Colonel Roy Mustang and this is my subordinate, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye from East City, we were very close friends to Ms. Becker," Roy answered.

The woman acted as if she remembered something and then said, "I was expecting you. I am Anna Becker, Please come in."

Anna directed both of them inside. While going in, Anna said, "Sorry we never met. It was my fault because my mother and I were never in talking terms. I should have fixed that…Mother was remembering both of you, especially Riza."

In the meantime, they had reached the dining hall where there were few chairs and 4-5 people were present there to attend the funeral. Riza had never seen those people before, maybe because they were some old relatives or friends of Matilda.

Anna stopped and turned around. "All these times she never wanted to talk to me, but at the last moments, she wanted to talk to me only…We, humans, are such strange creatures," Anna sighed.

"We were shocked when we found out that she died. What happened?" Roy asked.

"2 weeks back she suddenly started getting weak. She called me by saying that she wanted to meet me very urgently. When I came here, I found that she was weaker than ever. She was able to walk and do the regular chores but, she was getting exhausted quickly. She became weaker and weaker gradually, even the doctor couldn't find out the reason."

"Sorry, if we had known about her condition, we would have been here," Riza sympathized.

Meanwhile, Roy enquired, "Did she tell you anything about me?"

"She was very angry with you for some reason Mr. Mustang…I don't know why but she told me to punch you on your face," Anna chuckled.

Roy smirked when he heard that. And in the meantime, one of the guests called Anna. "Please comfort yourself. I will be back in a few moments," Anna smiled and left to address the guest who called her.

After Anna left, Roy rested on a chair, while Riza was roaming around. While roaming around, she saw an open room and to relieve herself from the anxiety she was having from quite a while, she got inside the room. As soon as she got inside, she saw Oliver was sleeping on a bed. She got closer to her son and started moving her hand over her son's head affectionately while he was sleeping. Because of this, Oliver started opening his eyes slowly and found his mother in front of him smiling at him. With drowsy eyes, he opened up his arms to reach out to his mother, and with a very low voice he said, "Mama".

Riza couldn't control the mother inside her anymore. She picked up her son gently in her arms and whispered in her son's ear, "Sorry baby, this time I took a bit long to come back."

After that she turned around and found Roy was standing there, looking at her confusingly. Riza was nervous when she saw Roy in front of her, and by that time Oliver was awake, rubbing his eyes and yawning. When Oliver saw Roy looking at him, he also started looking at him curiously. "Who is this kid?" Roy asked.

Riza gulped and requested, "Colonel, can we talk somewhere private?"

Roy quickly turned around and locked the room from inside. Then he came closer to Riza and looked into her eyes. "Tell me," he said.

Riza couldn't keep the eye contact with Roy, so she lowered her eyes. "This is Oliver," She stuttered.

"WHAT! This is Oliver!" Roy exclaimed.

Riza's forehead was covered with beads of sweat, still, she kept on going even after stuttering. "He…he is 3 years old. Ms. Becker used to take care of him when I was not around," she said.

Riza started getting nervous more and more. Her heartbeat started to increase at a very fast rate, and she wasn't able to look into his eyes. Roy understood that the kid held a very important place in her life which she didn't want to reveal to him. He linked all the clues from Ishval to the time when she came to her hometown once a week. And then he asked the only question which popped up in his head, "Is he our son?"

Riza's mind went numb and her eyes were widened. She gulped while the drops of sweat on her forehead started falling on the floor. "I…I…wanted," she hesitated even though she did nothing wrong in the first place.

But, before Riza could complete her sentence, Roy got his answer in her nervousness. He instantly got near Riza and Oliver and hugged them. Riza wasn't expecting that, she thought Roy would ask a lot of questions. She wasn't sure whether he was going to accept Oliver or not. But, when he learned the truth, he didn't ask a single question and accepted the circumstances as they were without having a second thought. Riza, who was surprised at the beginning due to the response of Roy, couldn't hold down her tears anymore. The droplets of tears from her eyes dropped on Roy's chest and wetted his white shirt, but he didn't give a damn about his attire. "Sorry I wasn't there when you needed me the most…Thank you for making my world bigger," Roy said.

"Stop doing this idiot. Ask me questions…don't just accept him. He will create trouble before your goal," Riza thought while she was sobbing.

Suddenly, Roy felt some push from tiny hands. When he looked, he found Oliver was pushing him away from his mother. Roy smiled looking at his son and stepped back. "Don't worry buddy, she still loves you more than me," Roy said.

Riza wiped her tears and advised, "Let's go outside. Anna must be searching for us by now."

All of them got out of the room and found Anna coming toward them. "Looks like you found your son," Anna smiled.

"Yes," Roy smiled back and continued, "I hope he didn't bother you much."

"No, I run an orphanage in Tobha (a small town in South Area), so it's not much of a problem for me," Anna replied.

"Thank you for taking care of Oliver," Roy said.

Riza was amazed for the fact that Roy instantly got into the role of a father. Meanwhile, Anna chuckled and said, "It's nothing. I am glad that I got the opportunity to serve the people who risk their lives to save us." She then looked at Riza and commented, "By the way, I have to admit. There is no better comfortable place for a child than his mother's arm. I could have never calmed him down so easily."

Riza would never want to leak the truth about Oliver and jeopardize her position under Roy. It was easy to convince anyone that Oliver was Roy's son because Oliver looked like a toddler version of Roy. So, she countered within a moment, "I think you had some misunderstanding Ms. Becker," she continued, "Oliver is Colonel's son…Colonel comes here once a week to spend time with his son, and because I am Colonel's aide, I also have to come with him. That's how Oliver grew fond of me, and sometimes likes to call me mama."

"I am sorry, Ms. Hawkeye, "Anna smiled and didn't ask any more questions.

At the afternoon, the funeral happened. And after the funeral was over, Anna, Roy, Riza, and Oliver were the only people left there. Oliver was picking some weed flowers from the ground, while Anna said, "Let's go home, I will prepare you something to eat."

"No, it's fine, we have some work at the market," Roy replied.

"Fine, meet you later then," Anna left for the house after saying that.

Now Roy and Riza were standing in front of Matilda's grave and Oliver was standing in between them with some weed flowers in his hands. He then bent down and put the weed flowers on Matilda's grave. His parents got surprised when they saw their son's activity. "Where did he learn that?" Roy asked.

"I don't know!" Riza answered.

"I think he picked up this activity from my side. Like father like son, you know?" Roy smirked.

Looking at the smug face of Roy, Riza raised her eyebrow out of disbelief.


	47. Father & Son (Part 3 - The Lake)

After paying their final respect to Matilda, Roy and Riza went to visit Berthold Hawkeye's grave with their son. Berthold's tombstone was very empty, and it had always been that empty after he was buried. That man shut himself out after his wife's death, because of which even his daughter never came to visit his grave. Roy knew that Riza never liked her father, so he brought two daisy flower with him, one of which he placed on Berthold's grave. Riza, on the other hand, was holding Oliver in her arms. "This small town had always felt like home to me than any other place in the planet," Roy stood up and offered the other daisy flower to Riza, "Here."

Riza gently put Oliver down and took the flower from Roy's hand. She then walked closer to the grave beside Berthold's grave. She placed the flower on the grave where the tombstone read one other member of the Hawkeye family, Elizabeth Hawkeye, Riza's mother. Roy knew that Riza was never going to pay respect to her father but she would definitely pay respect to her mother. And all the time, Riza didn't hold Oliver in her arms, Oliver kept latched to her.

After Riza was done, Roy proposed, "How about we take some food from the market and visit the lake? It's been a while."

But, Riza denied by saying, "It's better if we go to my house. If someone will recognize us without our uniform and Oliver in my arm, then we might face some problem."

"Come on, stop worrying for a moment. Would you?" Roy said and continued, "Please, only this time…I don't want this moment to get just wasted."

Riza sighed and picked up Oliver. "Alright, let's go to the market to have something to eat," Riza said.

Roy smiled upon hearing Riza's agreement, and the small complicated family went to the market to prepare for their first family time. After buying some fruits and snacks, they went to the lake and sat at their old place, which was under the shade of the black olive tree close to the lake.

Roy was leaning on the slope under the Olive tree while Riza was cutting some apples with Oliver sitting near her. Roy looked at the branches of the Olive tree and asked, "So you named him after this tree?"

"Yes," Riza replied.

"There couldn't be a better fitting name for our son…I still wonder how come this unique tree ended up here?" Roy said.

Meanwhile, Oliver was clinging on to Riza while she was cutting apples. So, Riza requested, "Can you take him for a moment?"

Roy was waiting for the exact moment, but he was nervous as well. He sat up and looked toward Riza. Then he answered hesitantly, "Sure."

Roy was figuring out how he should approach his son for the first time, and fortunately, he came up with an idea. He used alchemy and made a small wooden dog figurine out of the broken branches lying there while Oliver was watching. Oliver got fascinated, and when Roy offered him the figurine, he ran toward Roy and took it from Roy's hand. But, soon after that, he returned back to his mother. Roy again tried to get Oliver's attention by making a small wooden tree, and as expected, his plan worked perfectly. Oliver ran toward him and picked up the tree figurine and sat near him. Roy then made some more figurines out of the broken branches, and whenever Roy was making some figurine, Oliver was clapping his hand with joy and whenever Roy was finishing a figurine, Oliver shouted: "more, more".

Riza was looking at them, smiling at the inception of the bond between father and son. While each of them was enjoying their moments in a different way, there was a fourth person present near, who was also smiling watching the happy family. He came near them and commented, "You are a very adorable family."

Roy and Riza looked at the man. It was an old man, in his early sixties. The man was holding a tripod and a camera with him. "Thank you," Riza smiled.

The man looked at Roy and asked, "So are you planning to teach alchemy to your son? "

"When he is old enough then maybe I can teach him," Roy replied, but when he looked at Riza soon after that, he saw the scary disapproval. So, he quickly fixed his sentence by adding, "But, he should be the one to decide and not me."

"It's been a while since I saw an alchemist in this town," The man said.

Roy noticed the big camera with a big flashlight along with the tripod stand, which the old man was carrying. "Is your camera working, Sir?" Roy asked politely.

"It will have to. After all, I am a traveling photographer," The man replied.

"Can you please take a photo of me and my family?" Roy requested.

"Of course son, it will be my pleasure," The man smiled.

Riza looked at Roy with a confused face but, Roy ignored her. Riza understood that he won't listen to her so, she went with the flow. The Old man set his tripod and camera. Roy and Riza stood up, while Oliver was busy with his new toys made by his father, so Riza persuaded him and carried him on her arms. Then she walked toward Roy who was smiling. "Why are you smirking?" Riza asked.

"Nothing. It's just that you seem like a very different person today," Roy answered with a smile.

When Riza was close enough, Roy moved his hand closer to Riza's face and moved his finger through her short blonde hair and finished his movement by feeling her cheek by his palm. He didn't know what he was doing at that moment. "Damn, she is so beautiful," he thought.

Because of Roy's action, and a smile on his face, Riza started blushing. She was unable to speak at that moment. It was as if she was feeling the warmth of love once again. Her heart was beating the same way when she kissed him the first time, and Roy had also stopped perceiving what was happening around him because his hand was still on her cheek. And suddenly, Oliver bit Roy's thumb and ruined the moment between them. Right at that moment, the old man clicked the photo.

Roy groaned in pain and succeeded in taking out his thumb from his son's mouth somehow. Upon watching that, Riza and the old man laughed. "It looks like your son is possessive about his mother," The old man said.

Roy shook his hand while gritting his teeth to get some relief from the pain. "I guess, you are right," he yelped and continued with a grin, "I guess you captured that."

The old man smiled back and replied, "Yes, after all the invention of the camera was to capture the moments which happen, and not the moments we want to show."

That was the first family photo of the Mustang family, in which the son was biting his father's thumb while being in the embrace of his mother.


	48. Father & Son (Part 4 - Flower Vase)

**[Present day, Central City]**

Two days had passed since Oliver's funeral. Roy's office was operating as usual but with a slight change which was clearly visible to everyone working there. Riza's usual strictness and her occasional smile were missing. She appeared lethargic and very uninterested in the office, still, every day she forced herself to come to the office. Roy on the other side was completing his paper works like a machine, with very few breaks. He was also working late night and investigating his son's murder but still, there was not a proper lead.

While Roy was signing some papers in his cabin that afternoon and Riza was standing beside him, a soldier entered his cabin. "Pardon me General Mustang," The soldier said.

Roy stopped moving his pen and looked at the soldier. "What is it, soldier?" He asked.

"The Generals are waiting for you and Major Hawkeye at the meeting room," The soldier informed.

Roy looked at Riza and asked, "Major, did we have a meeting today?"

Riza quickly picked up the schedule diary lying on the desk and flipped through the pages to look at the schedule of the present date. And she saw a meeting among the different Generals was scheduled at the current time. She looked at Roy and said, "Yes, you have a meeting with 3 other Generals and the Fuehrer today. Sorry, I should have reminded you earlier."

"It's alright Major," Roy stood up and continued, "let's go to the meeting then."

"Yes Sir," Riza replied.

They got out of the office and walked toward the meeting room, which was at the Fuehrer's office. After reaching the meeting room, the soldier opened the door and both of them entered the room. There were four people waiting for them, sitting around an oval table. The first one was the new Fuehrer and the maternal grandfather of Riza, Fuehrer Grumman. The second one was the only female who commanded the toughest place in Amestris, who was popularly known as the Ice Queen, Lieutenant General Olivier Armstrong of Northern Command. She appeared quite bored with the unnecessary waiting.

Next one was a middle-aged bald man with only some black hairs left around the rim. He had a very bulky physique, but at the same time the glasses he wore, made him look like an intelligent person. He was the General commanding the Eastern region, **Lieutenant General Abingdon**. He was sitting at his chair forming a steeple with his fingers on the table, showing that he was thinking something.

And then there was the final General, who was the tallest among all the people present in that room, but not tall like Alex Armstrong. He was a middle-aged man with fully gray hairs which were styled in pompadour fade with a light beard. He was the commander of the Southern region, **Major General Fussen Lech** , and he was looking at Roy and Riza with a blank face.

Besides them, there was one more General who didn't attend the meeting who commanded the West region. Except for General Armstrong, all of the Generals became the most powerful person of their respective region only after the previous Generals were arrested for following Father.

When Grumman saw Roy and Riza, he smiled and said, "Welcome General Mustang, Major Hawkeye. Have a seat"

Both of them saluted the Fuehrer and took the seats beside each other, around the oval table. "First of all, on behalf of everyone here, we are sorry for your loss," Grumman condoled.

"Thank you," Roy and Riza responded simultaneously.

Grumman then continued, "I know you two from your childhood. Riza is my granddaughter and you are like a son to me. So as an Oldman you know and not the Fuehrer, I can only advice you two to get married. Nothing else would be changed, except both of you will now spend 24 hours with each other, rather than spending time at the office doing office works," He smiled and continued after a short pause, "We all human being, need a life partner to live, so that we can share our happy and sad moments."

"We'll consider it, Sir," Riza replied before Grumman could continue. "Can we please discuss the real reason for which we were called here?" She finished.

"We have made some changes in the security for the upcoming Amestris-Xing meeting," Olivier replied.

"But according to my knowledge, Major Hawkeye and I are in charge of the security," Roy looked at Olivier with furrowed brows.

"We all have come into the conclusion that you two will be removed from the charge of security for our Xingese guests," Grumman answered politely.

"Why?" Roy asked curiously.

"Don't push yourself too much, Mustang. We all know that you are personally investigating your son's murder after your regular office work. Moreover, Major Hawkeye is yet to recover. She is not alright… you know it, I know it, everyone here can tell just by looking at her." Meanwhile, Riza sat there acting all tough from outside, whereas Olivier continued, "It will be really unfortunate to lose such an important officer. Major Hawkeye," She looked at Riza and Riza looked at her, responding to the call. Then Olivier said, "You should look back at your primary reason for joining the military. Was it for your child or was it for your country?"

There was silence for a moment, because of such tough words that Olivier said to Riza after what she was going through. But, somewhere in deep inside, Riza knew that Olivier was telling the right thing, still, it was very difficult for any mother to forget her child that easily. Olivier was a very patriotic person, and she had seen many of her close friends die before her own eyes, but she had never experienced motherhood which made her comment a bit unsuitable for Riza.

Meanwhile, to break the awkward silence, Roy cleared his throat and asked, "May we know who's going to take charge of security then?"

"Major General Fussen Lech and Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong will take your place as security in charge," Olivier replied.

"I see," Roy acknowledged.

After that, Grumman called Riza by calling her by her rank and said, "You may go. And try to take some rest. If you want to take your day off, then you don't need to ask anyone. I want you at your best."

Riza quietly stood up and saluted without saying a single thing. She then left the room. When she left, all General sat to have a meeting on some other issue which lasted for an hour. After finishing the meeting, Roy came to his office and greeted everyone except Riza who had already left for home. He went to her table and opened her drawer, and he saw what he was afraid of. She had left both her guns there. He took her guns and drove straight to the graveyard without any security. And as expected, he found Riza sitting in front of her son's grave, crying to her heart's content and Hayate was sitting right beside his master quietly. Roy approached her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Riza looked at him with her wet eyes. Roy looked back at her with his sad eyes and said with a stressed voice, "Let's go."

Riza stood up and wiped her tears. Roy then drove her and Hayate to her apartment. He walked her inside her house and prepared her bed while she was changing her clothes. She slept on the bed without talking to him and Roy didn't bother to disturb her. He got out of her bedroom, but before leaving her house, he made sure to put her guns on her uniform, so that she wouldn't forget them while coming for office. He left a card and placed a small flower vase with lilies in it which he bought that evening. He put the flower vase on the card. There was something written on the card. It read, "Happy birthday. Like every time, I can only request you not to throw the vase when the flowers withers. I will be very happy to send you flowers every day if that doesn't annoy you."

It was a few hours early from midnight, but Roy didn't want to wake up Riza due to the recent circumstances. Instead, he looked at her sleeping and greeted her, "Goodnight Major and, happy birthday even though it is a bit early for that." Then he looked at Hayate and said, "Goodnight Hayate…take care of her like you always do."

Hayate barked with agreement. Roy then patted his head and left, locking the door from outside with the extra key he had. But instead of going home, Roy drove to the Ishvalan war memorial which was completed a month ago in memory of all the people who lost their lives during the Ishvalan civil war which included both the military and the rebels. When he arrived there, the park was empty, mostly because it was 9:00 PM. He went inside the park and walked to the center where the memorial was situated. When he reached there, he sat on a bench in front of the memorial.

He sat there for thirty minutes thinking about something, but someone disturbed his loneliness. A man approached him from behind, stood right beside him and asked, "May I sit here?"

Roy looked at the man. He seemed like he was in his fifties because of the fresh wrinkles on his face and streak of gray hair with the black. He was wearing a kurta and pajama with a shawl covered around his upper body. However, the most distinct thing about him was his dark skin and scarlet eyes. He was clearly an Ishvalan.


	49. Father & Son (Part 5 - Imitators)

After leaving Riza at her apartment with Hayate, Roy went to the Ishvalan War Memorial which was inaugurated 1 month ago at the central park. Roy was without any security at the park in such a late hour that there was no one there. But after some time, an Ishvalan man joined him who was wearing kurta, pajama, and a shawl. When Roy allowed him to sit beside him, he calmly sat there and looked at the memorial where Roy was looking. "What an unexpected sight to see…A military General sitting all alone without any security," the man said.

Roy already had his gloves on. So he responded calmly, "If you think I am vulnerable, then I may surprise you."

"I am here only to talk. And it was pretty hard to find some lone time with you, General Mustang," the man informed.

"Who are you?" Roy asked.

"It doesn't matter who I am. The only thing that matter is how we can benefit each other," The man replied.

Roy confusingly looked at the man who was still looking at the memorial. Meanwhile, the man continued, "Tell me Mustang…is this pillar enough to atone for all the terrible things you committed in Ishval?"

Roy looked toward the memorial and replied, "No, nothing is enough for that."

"Tell me one more thing…You kill the whole family of a man and then ask him to forget all those things and live peacefully with you. Do you expect that a man can ever do that?" The man questioned.

Roy was speechless. And when the man received no reply, he said, "I take it as no then…You must have figured out by now that I am from the Ishvalan Freedom Front."

"Yes," Roy answered.

"Then you also know that we want to be separated from Amestris and be a free country…We don't want blood but, we won't hesitate if we are not given what we deserve," The man said with authority.

Roy looked at the man and said, "Do you really think you represent every Ishvalan? The only thing you are doing is provoking the innocents with your radical thoughts."

"I am only telling the truth to my people, and I don't really care what you think about us…but, you will help us in achieving our goal," the man replied.

"And why would I do that?" Roy asked.

The man finally looked at Roy with a grin on his face. "Look behind Mustang," the man instructed.

The smile on that man's face made Roy a bit uneasy for a moment. Roy gulped and slowly turned around, and what he saw was enough to shock him to the core. He saw Oliver standing with a big Ishvalan man (Rolan) who was holding him on gunpoint and Oliver's mouth was covered with a piece of cloth.

While Roy was looking at Oliver with widened eyes, the man said, "Don't try to do anything stupid." Then he continued after a small pause, "Everyone thinks that your son is dead but actually, he isn't. Now you have to decide whether you want to help Ishval become an independent state or you want to see your son die for real this time?"

"YOU BASTARD," Roy yelled and clenched his fist out of anger. He wanted to burn them with a snap, but that was never an option.

The man stood up and asked very calmly, "So, are you helping us now?"

Roy replied slowly in an enraged tone, "I am never going to help-"

And suddenly he was interrupted. It was not by the man, but by the sound of the gunshot. And the next thing he saw was Oliver falling on the ground. Oliver's head was covered in blood. Upon watching that, Roy's mind went numb, and he acted on impulse by running toward his son. He fell on his knees and picked Oliver, but he couldn't feel the pulse. He felt the despair of losing his son once again. He was full of hatred at that moment. But, before he could do something terrible, the man said while walking close to him, "What if I tell you that your son is alive."

Oliver's dead body was resting on Roy's arm, but still, he wanted to believe what the man was saying. "What do you mean?" Roy asked curiously.

The man stood right in front of Roy. "Do you know about the chimera experiments in Ishval?" The man questioned.

"Yes," Roy replied with a bit of calmness in his voice.

The man then explained, "Before experimenting on humans, the military did some experiments with only animals. The results were not so good but, they made some chimeras which were quite useful. These chimeras were called as Imitators. Imitators were kept in pitch black area because whenever they saw the first living thing, they physically transformed themselves into that living thing. They could not copy the intellect, attributes or emotions but, their body was a perfect replica of that living thing. However, they could transform only once in their lifetime. These creatures were used in the Ishvalan war as fuel to the war, and no one ever found out. Fortunately, we found some of these creatures at one of the abandoned labs near Ishval…The dead body you saw at the alley was of an Imitator and the body you are holding right now is also of an Imitator… Your son is still alive Mustang, and we are giving you two days to reconsider the offer we are suggesting."

The man then started walking away from Roy. "Don't tell anyone about our meeting… And by the way, my name is **Thomas Maxwell**."

Rolan, the big Ishvalan man who shot the Imitator, took the dead body from Roy's arm, and said, "Don't worry Mustang, your son is safe and unharmed. And please get rid of your coat, it is covered with blood. People may ask questions if they see you like this." Rolan removed his coat and offered it to Roy. "Here, take mine," he said.

Roy stood up and took the coat from Rolan's hand. He wore it very calmly and then glared into Rolan's eye. "If anything happens to my son, I will personally bring hell into your lives…Remember that," Roy threatened.

"Goodnight, Mustang," Rolan greeted very calmly and walked away safely from the infamous flame alchemist.


	50. Father & Son (Part 6 - William Barns)

**[Present day, Western Command – Amestris]**

When Lieutenant Donovan, the military officer who was abducted and killed while returning from Ishval, did not show up at Western command, a search party was sent for him. But nobody knew, from where he disappeared, so they started searching from the Ishval train station. **Lieutenant Colonel William J Barns** was assigned the case of Lieutenant Donovan to investigate his disappearance. He was most famous for his detective skills in the Western region, and he mostly worked alone. He had quite a distinctive appearance because of the way he combed his dense black hairs backward and maintaining a handlebar mustache. His eyes were bluish, upon which he wore round glasses. But, unlike most of the military personnel who were fit and slim, he was slightly fat.

When he was assigned Donovan's case, he asked some soldiers to collect all the information about Donovan's travel from Ishval to Western City. After the soldiers collected information, they made a report and sent it to Western Command which was relayed to William. Besides that, he had already interviewed the direct superiors of Donovan, his family, and friends, but no one was able to provide him any leads. Most of the people only knew that he was leading a team for the reconstruction of Ishval city, but only a few of them knew that military was also in the process of restoring the old Ishval city as well. William found out this information after he talked to one of his superiors. While he was going through the report, he found one interesting thing. There was a statement from one of the railway staff, who said that Donovan ordered a sandwich and a coffee just after the train left Yeuc, which is a city closer to the border of Central Area and West Area. And when the train left the first Western station, Ayzchep, the staff came again to get the payment. But, Donovan was not in his compartment, even though his luggage was still there and even the half-eaten sandwich and the half-drunk coffee was still there.

William was reading the report at his desk, and after reading the statement, he said out of excitement, "Finally a lead. Looks like he disappeared at Ayzchep. Now, I just have to go through his luggage and pay a visit to Ayzchep."

William then went to the evidence room of the Western Command and looked for Donovan's belongings. He searched everything in his luggage, but nothing significant was found. Then he went through the report prepared by Donovan on the reconstruction of Ishval. While he was going through the report, he saw various images of destroyed Ishval city during the war, and then he found a separate section labeled as "Old Ishval". He went through the images in that section where he saw a photograph of ruins of a big temple which was partially covered with flora. There were various photographs of various sections of the temple. While he was browsing through the images, he saw one image where there was a tomb and a fresh flower on it. Because the images were black and white, it was difficult for him to identify the flower's color.

"What flower this could be? I have never seen any flower like this," He thought and resumed browsing through the images. After going through the report he concluded that there was nothing in the report that had any relation to Donovan's disappearance. So, he left the evidence room and proceeded toward his office.

While he was going toward his office, he saw a brunet lady officer was coming toward him. He quickly recognized her because she was the only state alchemist in West City, Cecilia Ingolfson, aka the Splinter Alchemist. He smiled and stopped to greet her, once she was close enough. "Hello Major Ingolfson," He said.

Cecilia stopped and looked at him with her usual blank face. "Hello Colonel Barns," She responded.

"So, how are you doing?" William asked.

"I am doing fine Colonel, thank you for asking," Cecilia replied.

"How was your trip to Wellesley?" William questioned.

Wellesley was the place where Cecilia took Donovan after abducting him and took him to Big John, the person who could show illusions. And everyone in the Western Command knew that she went there for some official work.

"It was good. Now if you please excuse me, I have to be somewhere," Cecilia answered.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Sorry to trouble you," William smiled.

"It's fine," Cecilia said and walked away.

She then went straight to the military library where someone was waiting for her. Even though she knew the person, she had always difficulty in discovering the person unless they want to. She was looking here and there in the library and walked more deep into the library, and suddenly she heard a woman's voice calling her by her first name. She looked toward the woman military personnel who was in her twenties. She understood that it was the person she was looking for. She sighed and went to meet the woman. "Let's go there, we can talk there," The woman said and led Cecilia to one of the vacant areas of the library.

After they reached the place, both faced each other and then Cecilia asked anxiously in a low voice "Did you kill him?"

"I told you to stop, but you didn't," The woman grinned.

Cecilia sighed and informed, "There is someone put for investigating Donovan's disappearance."

"I know. I hope he will be fun," The woman frowned and continued, "However, I doubt if he can catch me, after all, how he can find someone who doesn't exist?" She giggled.

Cecilia was annoyed by his behavior and interrupted by informing, "I found out the real incident which happened at Central Command."

The woman instantly stopped laughing after listening to that and looked toward Cecilia seriously. "Everything that is being spread out in the public is lies constructed by Grumman, Armstrong, and Mustang," Cecilia informed and continued, "Bradley was never attacked by some terrorists. He was actually attacked by some of Grumman's men. But, I think you know that already…However, the news that you might be interested in is that Father is in fact dead. He somehow got killed during the final transmutation."

"I thought Father failed when I saw so many people alive after I returned from Creta. But, finding out that Father is dead, is quite unbelievable," The woman sighed and continued, "Well, it is good news in a way if you think."

"Why? Didn't you pledge him your life?" Cecilia asked.

"I did, but he never asked me to help him other than looking after the West Area, which I did. But, now that he is no more, I can do whatever I want, and you no more need to go to Lab 0 time to time," The woman replied with a smile.

"You were already doing whatever you wanted, but it's good to know that I don't have to look after Lab 0 anymore," Cecilia said and then questioned after a small pause, "If Father is dead then doesn't it mean that the other three pillars are also free?"

"Yes. And by now Coeus would have also known about Father's death," The woman giggled and continued with a grin on her face, "Girl, we can expect an attack from Drachma anytime now, and do you know what? This time Drachma is going to win by stomping Fort Briggs."

"Isn't the Brigg's wall impregnable?" Cecilia asked.

"Not anymore," The woman smirked.

Meanwhile, in Selonova, a village in Drachma, Maria, Danny, and Boris were able to catch the infamous creature of Selonova and they learned the truth about the chimera and found a link between the chimera and the mysterious Lab C. However, their adventure ended very tragically when they reminded the chimera of her past accidentally. Soon after that Louie (the chimera), decided to accept her fate and faced the angry mob waiting for her outside the cave. She was beaten down to death by the people as an act of pure revenge. The people even refused to bury her anywhere near the village even after knowing the truth.

So, the trio took the dead body 5-6 miles away from the village and buried her at a place where there were some wild colorful flowers. After some time, when they finished burying her, the sun rose and gave a splendid view while all three of them were standing in front of the grave. "Life is so unfair sometimes," Maria said.

"Yes, it is. That's how it keeps everything in balance," Boris responded.

"Let's go, we don't have time to shed tears on her grave…The more time I save, the more time I get to punish those people who commit such an inhuman act on children," Danny said.

Maria and Boris looked at Danny surprisingly and smiled. Then they paid their final respect to Louie before leaving for Othon.


	51. Unleashed (Part 1 - Sandstorm)

**[Present day-The Great Desert]**

Ling and the team were on their way to Amestris for the first ever Amestris-Xing official meeting. They were traveling on their horses through the big desert, which covered a vast amount of area between Amestris and Xing. The Emperor of Xing had selected Ling for representing the Xingese royalty at the meeting. He didn't send a big force with him, instead, he sent two of the twelve greatest warriors of Xing as bodyguards. Along with them, the Emperor sent Hu Zemin, a diplomat working at the prime minister's office. Ling also successfully persuaded the Emperor to allow Lan Fan to come along as his personal bodyguard, and Mei as a companion.

While traveling, they had a formation. Yang was at the front, Yin was at the back, Lan Fan was at the left side, Mei and Xiao (Mei's panda) were at the right side, and Ling was at the center with Hu Zemin. "I can't believe I am going back to Amestris just after few months, and that also as royalty. Now, I will be fed all the delicious cuisines," Ling started imagining with his mouth open and saliva coming out of his mouth.

"I can also meet my prince, the handsome and kind alchemist, Alphonse Elric," Mei blushed while imagining Alphonse.

"Are you talking about the Elric brothers?" Hu asked.

"Yes," Mei replied.

"Isn't Edward Elric the youngest state alchemist?"

Mei nodded her head by saying, "mhmm."

"I also heard that you are very good at alkahestry as well," Hu said.

Mei blushed and said with a big grin on her face, "You can say that. I helped some Amestrians in a battle."

"There was a battle!" Yin interrupted and continued, "I heard it was some terrorist group that entered the Central command, and killed the Fuehrer while he was traveling by train."

"Yeah, it was kind of a battle. We helped to defeat the terrorist group involved and catch the traitor Generals," Ling answered instead.

Meanwhile, Yang asked something difficult for Ling, "My lord, would you mind telling me about how you got the philosopher stone? I am sure, the government didn't just hand it to you."

Ling, Mei and Lan Fan had promised their friends in Amestris to hide the truth about the real incident at Central Command and the secret of philosopher's stone. So, Ling told them the story which he told everyone after bringing the philosopher stone to Xing. Ling explained, "After the terrorist group entered inside central command, they were able to get their hands on one of the philosopher stones. But, before they could get out, they faced the Amestrian military and the famous flame alchemist, Roy Mustang. They knew that they were outmatched, so they somehow held Mustang's lady friend as a hostage. Mei and I decided to sneak attack them as they were holding the philosopher stone, but our timing was a little off. We managed to separate the philosopher stone from the terrorists, but they were able to hurt the lady. Mei went to help the lady, to seal her wounds and I went after the philosopher stone. That's how we took the philosopher stone in such chaos and no one ever knew, where it disappeared."

"So, it's true, they can create philosopher's stone," Yang said.

"Yes, but from what I know, it can be used only for a limited number of times," Ling replied.

"Is it true that it grants immortality?" Hu asked curiously.

"I don't know. But, it grants an alchemist the power to perform human transmutation without any danger," Ling answered.

Suddenly, sandy wind started blowing. Yin looked back and saw a sandstorm was approaching toward them. "We have to take shelter somewhere," She advised.

Ling looked back and when he said, "Why?" he saw the big sand storm approaching. His eyes were widened and he shouted out of surprise, "WHAT!"

Everyone looked back and saw what Ling was watching. "Hurry, let's find a shelter," Ling said.

Fortunately, Yang saw a cave at some distance. "I think there is a cave there," He informed by pointing in the caves direction.

A sandstorm was behind and Yang found a cave in an instant in that vast desert? It sounded as if Yang was under the same phenomenon when people get lost in deserts, which was watching mirage. But, when everyone looked at the direction where Yang was pointing, they could see the cave as well. "Let's go inside that cave," Ling shouted and sped his horse toward the cave. And everyone followed behind.

While they were getting closer to the cave, the entrance was appearing bigger and bigger, and finally, when they were right in front of the cave, they saw the entrance was much bigger than their expectations. All of them went inside the cave with their horses and tied their horses near the entrance such that the horses could be safe from the sandstorm. Because it was dark inside, Yin pulled out a torch from the carriage and lit it up.

After there was some light inside the cave, they could see how big the cave was actually. "Has any of you saw this cave before?" Ling questioned while looking around the cave.

"No," Everyone answered in sync.

Meanwhile, Ling thought he saw some smaller entrance in the dark. So, to clear his doubt he asked, "Can you shed some light in that area?" He pointed in the direction where he wanted to see.

Yin followed the order and walked toward the desired location, and as the light was clearing the darkness, they saw the small entrance which Ling speculated. The entrance was big enough for two people to walk side by side, and the floor was covered with sand like the rest of the cave. "Let's go inside," Ling proposed excitedly.

When he was about to step into the smaller cave, Lan Fan stopped him by saying, "Young lord, stop." Ling turned around to look at the concerned face of Lan Fan. Meanwhile, Lan Fan continued, "There could be dangers like quicksand, snakes and potholes inside the cave. Let me take the lead."

She rushed and quickly grabbed the torch from Yin's hand, while Yin surprisingly looked at her. Then she walked right in front of Ling and slowly proceeded inside the cave with caution. Ling and the others followed behind in a queue with Yang walking at the tail. While they were walking through the tunnel like cave with a sandy floor, Yin said, "Young Lord, your bodyguard is quite protective about you, even though we are also here…From the way she acts around you, I think she is in love."

Yin's comment was enough to increase the heartbeat of Lan Fan and make her blush. Fortunately, she was walking at the front, so no one could see her pink face. And before Ling or anyone could say anything, Lan Fan quickly responded with composure while walking forward, "Our family has been protecting the Yao clan for generations. So, it is my duty to look after him and give my life for him if required. If you think that is love, then I have no objections."

The way Lan Fan framed her answer sent Yin speechless for a moment. When she was about to tease Lan Fan once again, Lan Fan stopped walking and the whole queue stopped. "What happened?" Hu asked.

"The path has ended," Lan Fan replied.

They saw the walls but there was nothing significant there. "Looks like this cave does not hold any mysteries after all," Ling sighed out of disappointment.

And then suddenly Yang said from behind while looking at the floor, "The path."

Everyone confusingly looked at him. "What about the path?" Ling asked.

"Did any of you feel any distortion while walking on the path? Like any hole or rock protruding out?" Yang questioned.

Everyone looked toward each other and answered, "No."

"This path is too perfect to be natural," Yang said and continued after pulling out his sword from the scabbard, which had a transmutation circle on its handle, "Everybody, close your eyes. I am going to remove some of the sand on the floor."

When everyone closed their eyes, Yang pierced his sword through the sand to the actual rocky floor and threw a dagger at some distance. Soon after that, the sword's handle started sparkling with blue light, and all the sand below started getting accumulated at the location of the dagger. Yang successfully cleared some sand from below which was enough to unveil what was below the sand. After he was finished, Mei and her panda, Xiao-Mei started rolling on the floor, rubbing their eyes. Watching that, Yang sighed out of pity. "I told you to close your eyes," He said.

Lan Fan quickly went to Mei to help her wash her eyes. And in the meantime, everyone else looked at the cleared floor. Everyone's eyes were widened upon watching what they were witnessing. There were many transmutation circles, carved on the floor. "Looks like the whole floor is covered with transmutation circles," Yang said.

"Why there are so many transmutation circles doing in this cave?" Hu asked curiously.

Yang pointed at the accumulated sand from the cleared area and replied, "Have a look over there."

Everyone looked at the accumulated sand and saw some bones mixed up in the sand.

"Those are of animals, right?" Mei asked with a scared face.

"Xerxes is the closest city to this place which was considered to be the birthplace of alchemy and alkahestry. There are some stories that the alchemists performed human transmutation, and this place might be one of their labs. The bones lying in the sand can also be of humans," Yang informed.

Mei and Xiao-Mei gulped when they heard the scary explanation. Meanwhile, Yang continued, "Everyone knows the story about Xerxes on how it turned to ruins one day, and nobody knows the reason. How such an advanced nation got destroyed all of a sudden is still a mystery."

And suddenly a gust of wind came and extinguished the torch. Due to sudden darkness, Mei screamed. "Stop screaming Mei, the torch will be lighted up in a moment," Ling said.

But right at that moment, Yang anxiously said something frightening "Are you guys sensing something? It's very faint, but it suddenly appeared out of nowhere."

"Yes, it's a strange chi," Yin said.

"I am sensing it too," Ling informed.

"LIGHT UP THE TORCH," Mei shouted because she was also able to sense the strange chi.

Lan Fan quickly lighted up the torch. And as soon as she lighted up the torch, she saw a black dust particle near the flame.

"I think we are sensing this particle," Lan Fan said while looking at the particle.

Suddenly everyone except, Hu and Xiao stood in defensive stance with their weapons outside as if something was going to attack them.

"What happened?" Hu asked while cowering.

"There are somethings lurking here," Mei replied.

"The chis are similar but I am sensing it from different positions," Ling said.

Soon they saw some other black particles emerging from below the floor. "Let's get out of here, this place doesn't seem right," Yin proposed while standing in the defensive stance with others.

"Agreed. The storm must have gone by now," Ling said.

Everyone quickly went out of that place, rode their horses and continued their journey to Amestris.


	52. Unleashed (Part 2 - Donovan)

**[Wellesley, West Area]**

Wellesley was a less crowded place compared to some other cities. The place had few hills covered in greeneries and the highest hill among them was a good place to have a good view of the entire city. There was a very wide dirt road to the top of the hill, big enough to drive a four-wheeler, but there was a hiking path as well for people looking for a small adventure. However, very few people went to the top to enjoy a view.

It was one of those days when a young couple was hiking. "How much more do we have to walk?" The woman asked while panting.

"Just a little more. We are almost there," The man replied.

Both of them were sweating not only due to the hiking but also due to the hot weather. "Why are we even walking? We could have come here in some vehicle," The woman said with an angry face.

The man looked at her and answered with a grin, "To feel the wilderness, honey."

"How come I fell for an idiot like you?" The woman sighed.

After some time they reached their destination from where they could see the entire city. He walked to the edge of the cliff and asked while looking at the city, "So, what do you think? Was it worth it?"

"No," The woman replied instantly with an annoyed face.

The man looked at her with a smile and walked close to her. "You could have lied at least, just to make me happy," He said.

"For your information, our relationship is based on trust, and not on lies," She responded with a smile while handing him over the small backpack she was carrying.

When the woman reached the edge of the cliff, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she breathed in, she smelled something foul. "ooh, what is that?" She crinkled her nose.

"What happened?" The man asked.

She replied while slowly moving her head to look down, "It smells like something is dea-" She couldn't complete her sentence because of what she saw down the cliff. Her eyes widened when she saw, and slowly she started breathing heavily. She quickly backed down with a scream.

The man anxiously rushed toward her asking, "What is it?"

He went to the edge of the cliff and looked down, and he was shocked as well. It was Lieutenant Donovan's dead body, lying midway on a rock few meters above the ground. Crows and Vultures had already eaten most of his flesh. Lieutenant Donovan was the same person who was abducted by the splinter alchemist, Cecilia Ingolfson while returning from Ishval, and later killed by the dwarf who could create illusions or hallucinations.

Soon, this news reached the military, and a group of people came from the military to retrieve the dead body. After retrieving it, the body was sent to Western City. When Donovan's dead body arrived at the Western city, it was taken to the hospital for post mortem. His body was somewhat recognizable due to some skin and flesh attached to his face.

Now, William was in a difficult situation to convey the news to Donovan's family who were living in Western city. He went to Donovan's home in his uniform with Donovan's belongings. When he reached Donovan's apartment, he knocked at the door, and after a few moments, a girl of around 13-14 years old, opened the door. Watching someone from the military, the girl smiled and asked excitedly, "Is daddy here?"

She looked outside but couldn't find anyone except William, and listening to the girl's happy voice mentioning her father, her mother rushed out quickly. She looked very happy, but when she saw an unknown person from the military, instead of her husband, her smile quickly disappeared. She looked at William and asked with a polite voice, "May I help you?"

William introduced himself and he told the truth about Donovan's death. As soon as she heard the news, she fell on her knees and started crying. Her daughter was trying to calm down her mother, but she was herself far from composed. The small family of Donovan couldn't believe that the person they loved, was no more. William handed over Donovan's belongings to the girl and stayed there for some time to give them some moral support.


	53. Unleashed (Part 3 - Bleeding Man)

**[Central Command]**

Everybody in Roy's unit was done with their work and was getting ready to leave for home. Riza came to Roy's desk to collect the paper works which Roy had completed without slacking off for a bit. While picking up the papers, she noticed something was bothering Roy, and he was trying to hide the reason. "What happened?" Riza asked.

"Nothing. Everything is fine," Roy replied.

Riza looked at Roy doubtfully with one raised eyebrow. Roy understood that she was not going to leave without knowing the reason. So, he sighed and said, "It's just the IFF issue. It's getting worse."

"I know. What else?" Riza questioned.

"That's all, there is nothing else," Roy answered.

"Alright," Riza said and walked back to her desk with a pile of paperwork.

Even though she left quietly, Roy had understood that she didn't believe him. Normally, she would have forced him to speak the truth, but this time she was still recovering from the loss of her child.

After doing some overtime with Roy, Riza left for home. She always liked to walk home so, she left the HQ and began walking as usual on the footpath. There were fewer streetlights and it was night time but, it was not a problem for her. She couldn't hear any footsteps other than her own that night. Not even a stray dog or stray cat was creating any noise. Because the office hour was over, she had left her hairs loose to wave in the slow breeze.

While she was walking, she suddenly felt like someone was tailing her, however, she knew who it was. "Why are you following me?" She asked and turned around to find Roy walking toward her without any bodyguard.

"I thought of walking with you tonight. Sorry if I ruined your moment with loneliness," Roy replied.

Roy came more close to her, and both started walking beside each other. "Where is your security?" Riza enquired.

"I sent them home. I informed them that you would be accompanying me to home," Roy answered and continued when he didn't find any sign of annoyance on her face, "Why didn't you bring Hayate with you today?"

"I forgot," Riza replied.

"And where are your guns?" Roy asked.

Riza checked her purse and everywhere she usually kept her guns but, there was nothing. Not even the gun covers were hanging on her belt. She realized that she had messed up, but then she heard Roy's voice, saying, "Here."

Riza looked at Roy's hand. He was holding her guns which were covered inside the gun covers which she usually hanged on her waist or inside her uniform. She took the guns from him and put them on either side of her waist. "Thank you General," She said.

"That is not like you…yesterday also, you forgot your guns…and why do you walk? The office has provided you a car you know?" Roy scolded.

Riza resumed walking again. "I will remember the next time," She replied with a lethargic voice.

"You know, it's not safe wandering on streets without any protection," Roy said.

But, Riza simply ignored Roy's concern for her and asked, "Why are you walking? You could have just brought your car. It would have been easier for me to drop you at home and leave."

Roy's eyes were widened, and he felt like a fool because Riza was right. His home was not at a walkable distance. However, he somehow pulled out an answer from his lady-killer arsenal and replied with a grin, "Then it wouldn't have given me enough time to spend with you."

He expected Riza to get mad for that answer, but she didn't even react and kept on walking. Roy's grin disappeared when he didn't receive an answer from Riza. He didn't notice at first but, it was not that hard for him to figure out that she was hiding the tears which were slipping from her eyes, moving through her cheeks and falling on the ground. So he stopped and held Riza's hand because of which Riza stopped. "It's okay…you can throw all your sorrow, pain, anger at me and I promise, I will gladly accept them," He said worriedly.

Upon hearing those assuring words from Roy, she turned around and she hugged him. She started crying on his shoulders, "It's proving very difficult to forget him…I still remember the day he was born… his tiny hands were reaching out to my face even though his eyes were closed. If you had been there you could have also seen, how he was yawning," She chuckled for a very brief moment and continued while her tears were pouring on Roy's uniform, "I think it's our karma which took our son from us…we destroyed so many families at Ishval that it is our penance that we are unable to start a family together."

Roy desperately wanted to tell her that Oliver was alive but, he was afraid if someone was spying on him and, any wrong move could lead to his son's death. He hugged her tightly and stroked his hand on the back of her head to calm her down. But then suddenly, both of them heard footsteps of someone approaching them. The sound of footsteps was getting louder and louder gradually. The sound of the footsteps was sounding so hostile in the silence that Riza stopped crying and looked into the direction of the noise along with Roy. She took out her guns and Roy was ready with his gloves on.

Soon, they saw an Ishvalan man running toward them. He was bleeding very badly and when he saw Roy and Riza in front of him, he started shouting, "HELP, HELP". Watching the man approaching, Roy said to Riza, "I am keeping a watch on him, you look around us. I think it might be a trap."

"Copy," Riza acknowledged.

Roy then looked at the injured Ishvalan man and shouted, "Stop right there."

That man's face and body were covered with blood, his clothes were shredded, his left arm was ripped apart and blood was dripping from there. After listening to Roy, he stopped around 10 meters away from him and cried, "Please help." And soon after saying that, he fainted. Watching his condition, Roy thought it might not be a trap and walked close to the man.

There was no doubt that the man was in dire need of medical attention. So, Roy said, "Let's take him to hospital."

They were lucky that there was a phone booth nearby, so Riza called the hospital and asked them to send some people at their location with an ambulance. The Ishvalan man was still bleeding badly so, Roy decided to stop his bleeding by cauterizing the ripped left arm wound. Because the hospital was near, the ambulance reached there very quickly and they took the man to the hospital. Roy and Riza also went to the hospital with the Ishvalan man. Roy appointed some military guards to look after the Ishvalan and ordered them to inform him as soon as the man gains consciousness.

Meanwhile, Colonel Alex Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist, was having dinner in his house with his family. And suddenly, the phone rang, and a maid attended the call. She then came near Alex, to the dining table with the long wired telephone and informed, "Master Alex, there is a call from the Central Command."

Alex quietly put his knife and fork on the plate and wiped his mouth with the napkin. He then took the receiver from the maid's hand to attend the call. "Hello, Colonel Alex Armstrong speaking," He said.

There was a lady on the other side of the phone who said, "Colonel Armstrong, there has been a report of multiple explosions at the goods station. Also, people are claiming that they saw a monster with glowing red eyes."

"I am reaching there. In the meantime tell the incharge on site to surround the area and interrogate some people," Alex ordered.

"Roger that," the lady responded.

Alex then hung up the phone and went to his room to wear his uniform. When he was leaving, Philip Armstrong asked, "When will you be returning?"

"I can't say, father," he replied and went to the railway station for transporting goods, which was simply called the goods station.

 **[3 hours earlier]**

At an unknown warehouse situated at the outskirt of Central City, which was being used by the IFF (Ishvalan Freedom Front) as a base, was attacked. The militants were trying to kill something with all the weapons at their disposal.


	54. Unleashed (Part 4 - The Warehouse)

**[3 hours before Roy and Riza encountered the bleeding Ishvalan man on the streets. At an unknown warehouse at the outskirt of Central City]**

Thomas Maxwell, the leader of IFF, was sitting inside a room. The room had a map which had upcoming missions. There was a desk behind which Thomas was reading the newspaper. And suddenly he heard the door to the room open. Thomas looked toward the door and saw Rolan enter. Rolan walked close to the desk and said, "I have some news."

Thomas put the newspaper on the desk and said, "Tell me."

"We found out who is Oliver's mother. It's Major Riza Hawkeye," Rolan informed.

Rolan explained everything on how he found out the secret hidden by Roy and Riza for so long. He was only able to find out the secret because Riza was no more concerned about it after Oliver's death. After listening to him Thomas steepled his fingers and responded, "Hmmm…how amusing, they had been hiding their relationship for so long, and no one ever had a clue?"

"They are still hiding it. Maybe because of Mustang's position and the recent circumstances," Rolan added.

"You may be right," Thomas agreed and continued after a small pause, "Do you think, we should tell the truth to the boy?"

"It's your call…after all it was your plan to kidnap him by leveraging that secret," Rolan replied.

"If you think my plan was not good enough, then let me remind you that I asked for other's suggestion at that time," Thomas said with narrowed eyes.

"I am just saying if it was your idea to lie about his mother, then it should be your responsibility to convey him the truth," Rolan answered calmly.

Thomas leaned back on his chair and took a deep breath. After letting out a sigh for calming down, he sat straight and said, "Fine."

Thomas stood up and moved toward the door. "Now, if you will please excuse me, I have to deliver some news," He said.

Thomas went to the room where they had kept Oliver. They had kept a woman for looking after Oliver, who used to spend most of her time in Oliver's room. Her name was Geeta and as usual, she was in Oliver's room. When Thomas walked in through the open door, he saw Oliver was on his bed with his hands tied and Geeta was reading a book. Geeta was in her late thirties and throughout her youth, she had fought multiple times, which could easily be realized by anyone after watching a few battle scars on her face. She was wearing a turtle neck t-shirt with a jacket over it. She was wearing her raven hairs as a bun behind her head.

As soon as Geeta realized that someone had entered inside the room, she lowered her book to look at the person. And when she saw Thomas, she quickly stood up. Meanwhile, Oliver looked at Thomas and asked, "When are you going to untie my hands?"

Thomas went near Oliver and sat on the bed to untie Oliver's hands. When he untied Oliver's hands, Oliver asked another question, "When are you letting me go, Mr. Maxwell?"

"Soon," Thomas said.

Oliver then sat properly on the bed and looked at Thomas. "Did you meet my father?" He questioned.

"Yes, he was very much missing you….he even wanted to toast me, when I told him that I have kidnapped you," Thomas smiled.

"Mr. Maxwell, is it necessary to hurt others to get what you need?" Oliver asked.

Thomas chuckled when he heard such a philosophical question from a child. He replied, "Kid, you are way too small to understand the things going on." He paused for a moment and continued from his heart, "We were never like this, it's the constant oppression for years which forced us to take this path…You should ask this question to your father instead."

Oliver looked at Thomas with his innocent eyes and said, "I will ask."

Thomas smiled and tousled Oliver's head. He then said, "Anyways, I have very good news to tell you. I-"

Before he could finish off his sentence, they heard gunshots fired outside. Thomas, Oliver, and Geeta got out of the room to check what was happening. Rolan was also standing there with some other IFF militants. Because the warehouse was very big with lots of sectors, they could only hear the gunshots which were being fired near the main entrance. "What is happening?" Thomas asked curiously.

"I don't know. Maybe the military found us," Rolan replied.

Thomas then called Geeta by her first name, to which Geeta replied with a "Yes Sir?"

"Keep Oliver with you, and if the military passes us and comes here, you know what to do," Thomas ordered.

"Yes Sir," Geeta responded without any hesitation.

Thomas then looked at Rolan and said, "Let's go."

Both of them walked toward the direction from where the noises were coming, along with the few militants who were with them. They were present at one end of the warehouse, so to reach the main entrance, they had to go through lots of turns and spacious places. When they were at the final turn, they saw a side view of two to three militants were shooting something or someone. And suddenly one militant flew toward the militants who were shooting, and he hit the wall behind. That militant died instantly because of the force with which he was thrown.

Thomas and Rolan were afraid and curious about what was happening. Thomas removed his shawl and dropped on the ground, and then pulled out his handgun. Rolan also picked up a rifle and moved forward with Thomas. When they walked past the final turn, they looked in the direction where the militants were shooting, and saw a very horrifying scene. There was blood everywhere on the ground, severed limbs and dead bodies of militants were spread across the place, and other militants who were alive or in good condition were shooting at a creature which was ripping the place apart.

The creature was looking like a humanoid which had four arms, but it was crawling using all of its limbs instead of walking like a normal human. It was pitch black in color with glowing red eyes and on some portion of its body, there were skin fragments. Those skin fragments were of its own as if the creature was trying to complete its body. It was almost 15 feet in length and 6 feet high when it was walking on all its limbs, however, it was very fast and agile for its size. All the militants who were present there were shooting at the creature, but whenever the bullets were hurting the creature, the wounded area was again filled up with some black smoke like particles in order to heal that wound. Thomas, Rolan and everyone who just arrived there, were terrified to watch that creature. "What is this thing?" Thomas said with widened eyes.

A militant who was standing near him, who had been in the fight before Thomas' arrival, replied, "We don't know. It suddenly broke through the main gate and started attacking us."

Suddenly, a severed hand fell near them. Thomas and the militant looked at the hand and gulped. "Can it be hurt?" Thomas asked.

"We are able to hurt it, but it is healing very fast. Also, it doesn't seem like it is made of flesh or bones," The militant informed.

"Damn it," Thomas said with anger.

Meanwhile, Rolan intervened by saying, "We have to do something fast, otherwise this whole place will be turned into a graveyard."

Thomas looked at the militant he was talking to and said, "Take all the surviving soldiers with you and leave for Dublith. Rest of us will meet you there."

After receiving the order from Thomas, the militant took the majority of the militants with him. Only the ones who were left fighting the creature were Thomas, Rolan, and three other IFF militants. All of them were shooting non-stop at the creature, but the shooting was only able to slow down it a little bit. Soon, Rolan's rifle was out of bullet, so he grabbed a big iron pipe from the scrap which was lying there, and charged toward the creature. He jumped at the creature and with all his might, he hit the creature with the iron pipe he was holding. The creature stumbled, and as soon as it fell on the ground, Rolan pushed the pipe through its body. Getting the chance, one of the militants moved closer to the creature and started stabbing its head with the knife at the front end of his rifle. "Die you fucking monster, die," The militant cried out loud.

Soon the creature stopped moving and its eyes stopped glowing which surprised the militant who was attacking it. He stopped attacking it and said with a surprised face, "What! Is it really dead?"

When he saw the absence of glow in the creature's eye, he started laughing out loud. But then, the eyes again started glowing and the area where the creature was stabbed with the iron pipe enlarged to get rid of the pipe, and some black dust-like particles appeared there. The wound which was created by Rolan after such an effort was healed. Watching the scene, the smile on the militant's face disappeared and he backed down to maintain some distance between him and the creature.

Everyone again prepared themselves for the next round. The three militants pointed their rifle at the creature, Thomas pointed his handgun at the creature, and Rolan pulled out his special daggers.


	55. Unleashed (Part 5 - Goods Station)

After the first successful attack on the creature, Thomas, Rolan, and the three militants were happy for a moment that the creature was dead, but it rose like a phoenix. Everyone was prepared to begin the second round with their weapons.

"Aim for its eyes," Rolan said with his daggers ready to indulge.

As soon as they received the order, everyone started shooting at its eyes, and the creature was trying to block all the attacks with one hand. In the meantime, Thomas threw a grenade which blew off its two frontal arms. This gave them an opening to its eyes, and everyone started shooting. Getting the opportunity, Rolan charged toward the creature with daggers in both the hands and a grenade belt hanging on his waist. He jumped on the creature's back and penetrated his dagger in its neck to create an opening. As soon as he tore off the area at the back of its neck, he quickly dropped a grenade in the opening and jumped away from the creature's back. After few seconds, the grenade planted inside the creature's back exploded, and its head was shredded into pieces along with half of its torso. The remaining half of the torso fell on the floor. Watching that, one of the militants jumped with happiness and shouted "Yes."

Rolan walked toward his team like a badass and saw their smiling faces. "Nicely done Rolan," Thomas praised.

"Hope it is dead this time," Rolan said while putting back his daggers.

Everyone was happy that the creature was dead this time, but that happiness was only for a short moment. The pieces of the creature's body started sublimating into black particles, and those particles started accumulating at the remaining part of the torso, and with that, the creature was again fully healed within a few seconds. It was again standing in front of them, staring them with its glowing red eyes. And before it could charge, the three militants again started shooting at it. But, only after two-three shots, they were out of bullets and there was no more bullet to reload. As soon as the firing stopped, the creature charged at the three soldiers and attacked one of the soldiers with its claw-like hands. The soldier was cut into two pieces from the middle, and his upper body fell near Thomas and Rolan.

Thomas and Rolan's eyes were widened after witnessing the creature's wrath. "Thomas, you should go. I don't think we can kill this monster, but if it kills you, then all of our dreams will remain a dream," Rolan said.

Thomas looked toward Rolan and nodded. "I will be waiting for you at Dublith, don't be late… old friend," Thomas hugged Rolan and said, "Good luck."

Thomas then rushed toward the place where he left Oliver with Geeta, and Rolan picked up another big iron pipe from the scraps lying there and charged toward the creature. When Thomas reached the place where he left Oliver, he couldn't find Oliver there. So he started shouting Oliver's name, and he saw Geeta coming out of the meeting room along with Oliver. When she saw Thomas sweating and panting, she asked, "Are you alright Sir?"

"Yes," Thomas replied.

"What is happening out there?" Geeta questioned.

"Is my dad doing all this?" Oliver interrupted.

Thomas ignored all the questions and advised, "Let's get out of here through the back door."

"I am sure my dad's men must have surrounded this place, and they will catch you once you get out," Oliver said.

Thomas came close to Oliver and said with an annoyed voice, "Sorry to disappoint you, but that is not your dad out there. There is something out there which no one would ever want to encounter. I don't know what it is or where did it come from, but if we don't hurry then things might not end well. Now, junior Mustang, if you want to stay alive then cooperate and come with us."

While Thomas was busy in scaring a child, Geeta was trying to open the back door just a few feet away. Unfortunately, Geeta was unable to open it for some reasons. So, Thomas looked at her curiously and asked, "What happened?"

Geeta looked back and replied, "It's not opening."

Thomas then tried to open the door, but still, the door was not opening. "Looks like the door is jammed," He grunted while opening the door.

In the meantime, they heard the creature's loud roar. "What was that?" Geeta asked with a scared face.

"That's the thing we are running from," Thomas replied while still struggling to open the door. And realizing the grave situation, Oliver decided to help. "I can open the door with alchemy," He said.

Oliver walked close to the door, and Thomas moved aside. Oliver then pulled out chalk from his pant pocket, which he picked up from the meeting room, and started drawing a transmutation circle on the door. And when he was about to perform alchemy, he heard some fast footsteps approaching them. Thomas picked up an iron rod lying on the floor, and Geeta pointed her rifle toward the direction from where the creature was coming. Soon the creature took the last turn and stood a few meters away from the group. Geeta and Oliver were terrified when they saw the creature for the first time. Geeta had fought many battles, she had fought against skilled soldiers, she had fought against state alchemists, she had even fought against chimeras, but this time it was different. The creature was nothing like she had encountered before, however, she maintained her composure whenever she faced a new threat. She started firing at the creature but, this time the bullets were not even bothering the creature, it was charging toward them without even protecting itself from the bullets.

Suddenly, Thomas and Geeta heard the jammed door breaking, and with that assurance, Thomas turned around, picked up Oliver and got out of the door. Geeta was following behind them, but just when she got out of the door, the creature entered one of his hands through the door and caught Geeta's leg. Thomas looked behind and saw Geeta being pulled in by the creature, but he knew that he could not do anything to save her and kept on running. The creature was unable to get through the door, so it peeked through the door and saw Thomas and Oliver getting inside a black dented car. It got angrier and started smashing the walls. It took some time, but finally, the creature was able to smash through the walls. And as soon as it got out of the warehouse by breaking through the walls, it started running toward the direction where Thomas and Oliver were going, even though they were long gone.

Thomas was driving beside the railway tracks near the goods station, unknown from the fact that the creature was still following them. While traveling, they saw a goods train was being loaded with some goods to be transported. Thomas quickly stopped the car, and both of them got out of it. While getting out, one of the shirt buttons broke from Oliver's shirt and dropped in the car.

Thomas left the car unlocked with the key still intact, and he ran toward the train along with Oliver. They searched for an empty carriage and got inside it. After some time, they heard footsteps, and they understood that the creature was near, but the train didn't seem to leave the station any time sooner. "What! Why is this thing following us?" Thomas shouted.

Thomas and Oliver got out of the carriage and started moving toward the engine. While they were running toward the engine, the creature saw them from a distance and charged toward them. Thomas stopped to face the creature and said, "Run kid, tell the driver to start the engine, and board the train as soon as the engine starts."

Oliver looked at Thomas, but he was facing his back to Oliver. Thomas stood between him and the creature. And Oliver couldn't believe that the person responsible to kidnap him was risking his life to save him. He adhered to Thomas' advice and ran toward the engine. Thomas on the other hand, pulled out his dagger and stood between the creature and Oliver. He was watching the creature charging toward him and he was holding a small dagger in front of it. "I never thought that my end would come like this," He grinned.

When the creature was very close to Thomas, Thomas charged toward it, holding his dagger. However, the creature didn't stop. It raised one of his hands and slapped away Thomas with the back of its palm while running. Thomas flew away some distance and his head hit a cemented pole, because of which his head started bleeding and he passed out. The creature then started chasing Oliver who was running toward the engine. Oliver was very much afraid, so he didn't look back and kept running with all his might. And then suddenly, a grenade fell in front of the creature, and when the creature was moving just over the grenade, it exploded and destroyed the creature's four frontal limbs. The grenade was thrown by Geeta who was standing on the roof of the train holding a bag.

The explosion created a disturbance in the station and some people came to find out the reason. Even the driver who was sitting in the engine room looked at the back of the train and saw Oliver was running toward him, and behind Oliver, he saw the red glowing eyes and the healing limbs of the creature. When Oliver saw the driver he shouted, "Start the train". Meanwhile, Rolan rushed toward Thomas and picked him up, and ran toward Oliver. While the creature was healing itself, Geeta threw one more grenade below it which exploded and stopped the creature from healing up its limbs by blowing up the half-healed limbs. Watching the explosions and the creature, people at the station panicked and the driver quickly started the engine. Hearing the engine's sound, Rolan shouted, "BOARD THE TRAIN OLIVER."

Oliver who was running in front of Rolan quickly got inside a carriage which was loaded with some goods. He then looked at Rolan and smiled because Rolan was alive. Rolan then also got near the carriage and put Thomas inside that and said, "Take care of him."

Rolan pulled out his dagger and stood at that position, looking toward the creature healing itself. Soon, Geeta got off from the train roof and threw away some cotton and bandages inside the carriage where Oliver and Thomas were. And in a few moments, the train started moving slowly. While Oliver and Thomas were separating away from Geeta and Rolan, Geeta looked at Oliver and said, "Oliver, put some cotton and bandages on Thomas' head to stop the bleeding."

"BUT, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT," Oliver sobbed.

The train had now picked up speed, and to stop the creature to go behind the train, Geeta and Rolan charged toward the creature. Geeta had only one grenade left, and she was holding it. On the other hand, she was holding a dagger. She first threw the grenade below the creature's half healed limbs, destroying them once more. There fight with the creature gave the train enough time to leave the station at high speed. When the creature was fully healed up, it fought with Rolan and Geeta for a moment and then chased the train. Even though its speed was not on par with the train, it still chased the train.


	56. Unleashed (Part 6 - Dented Car)

After 3 hours of the incident at the goods station, one of the Ishvalans who survived the attack encountered Roy and Riza on the streets. They took him to the Central hospital because of the severity of damage he suffered. On the other side, the news of the fight against the creature which took place at the goods station was reported to Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong. He went to the station as soon as he could.

Colonel Armstrong was at the station, going through the summary of interrogations and incident area. A military officer reported him everything that happened at the station including the fight between the creature and some militants to the point where a child and an unconscious man got inside the train and the creature followed them. The only thing which was missing was the identity of all the people involved in the fight, due to which they speculated that the people were from IFF. Moreover, Alex was under the impression that Oliver was dead, so it never occurred to him that the child could be Oliver. Because Alex was in charge of the security for the upcoming Amestris-Xing meeting, the incident mattered a lot to him. He, along with two other soldiers searched the nearby areas, and at some distance from the station, besides the railway tracks, he found an abandoned black dented car. He looked in the car and found that the key was still intact. "Looks like someone was in a hurry," Alex said.

Alex then looked at the soldiers and ordered, "Take this car for inspection, and try to find out where this came from and to whom does it belong?"

Soon after he gave the order, he noticed that one young soldier was running toward him. The soldier stopped right before Alex, and he saluted. When Alex asked him the reason, he informed, "There was a message from central command a few moments ago. A badly injured Ishvalan man is admitted in the Central hospital."

"Hmmm…monsters, injured Ishvalans. Looks like something terrible is happening which we are unaware of," Alex said.

Alex then quickly left for the hospital in order to get some more details on the matter. When he was about to enter the hospital, he saw Roy and Riza were coming out. Alex stopped and saluted Roy. "General," He looked at the blood-stained uniform of Roy.

"Colonel Armstrong. Are you here for the injured Ishvalan?" Roy asked.

"Yes," Alex replied and continued, "What happened to you?"

Roy looked at his coat, and smiled, "Oh this? I got it when we brought the Ishvalan man."

"What! You brought him?" Alex exclaimed.

Roy then explained everything to Alex. And after hearing their part of the story, he took a deep breath to calm down. Then he shared his part of the story, "Before coming here, I went to the goods station. People are claiming that they saw some people were fighting a monster using grenades, but the monster didn't die. And it chased the train where a boy and an unconscious man boarded."

"An immortal monster!" Riza narrowed her eyes and continued, "Sounds similar to the homunculi."

"Even I thought that for a moment, but how can they exist if Father is dead," Alex said.

"We cannot rule out the possibility, after all, Father was living under Central command for centuries, and we never knew," Riza reminded.

Roy then looked at Alex with a concerned face, and asked, "Were the people fighting the monster, Ishvalans?"

"As of now we are unsure, but there is a high chance that they were from IFF," Alex answered.

Soon after listening to the answer, Roy responded in a slightly worried and suspicious way. He was able to defy Alex's eyes, but Riza understood that Roy was trying to hide something. "Is something bothering you, General?" She asked.

Roy looked at Riza, and he understood that she saw right through him. Still, he said, "No, nothing," and smiled.

Riza was still staring at Roy with her piercing eyes, due to which Roy understood that she was not convinced. And by that time, Alex could also feel the tension between those two. So, he interrupted by saying, "General Mustang. Major Hawkeye. I don't want to get into your private matters, but as a friend, I can only say that whatever happened has happened, we cannot change whatever is done, the only thing we can do is live on because we are no God, we are just his creations"

But, Alex then realized that his words created a gloomy environment there, so he tried to lighten up the moment by continuing after a brief chuckle, "Like I can show the love that has been passed down in the Armstrong family for generations."

He got closer to hug Roy and Riza, but before he could hug, he saw Riza's glare and stopped himself from hugging them. "Now if you will excuse us, Colonel," Riza said with stiff voice and walked past Alex with Roy. And Alex went inside the hospital with an embarrassed face.


	57. Savior (Part 1 - Evidences)

**[Central City]**

After the incidence at the warehouse where the IFF had its base, one of the militants who survived the attack, escaped the place and encountered Roy and Riza on the way and he fainted within few seconds of the encounter. Watching his critical condition, Roy and Riza quickly called the Central hospital and admitted him.

Next afternoon, the Ishvalan man woke up and he was having his food when Roy and Riza entered his room. Roy sat near him on a stool, and Riza was standing behind Roy. The man looked Roy for a moment, and then said, "Thank you for saving my life."

"Are you from IFF?" Roy asked anxiously.

"Yes…and I know what are you worried about right now," The man replied.

Now, the man had unintentionally caught Riza's full attention. Riza was looking at the man very curiously, while Roy gulped in fear, knowing that the secret was about to get exposed before he could tell Riza by himself. Meanwhile, the man continued, "To tell you the truth, I don't know where your son is or how he is. Everything was very chaotic after the attack."

Riza was shocked to find out that an unknown Ishvalan man was speaking about her son, that he could be alive. She instantly took a few steps toward the man and before Roy could speak, she asked anxiously, "What do you mean where his son is? General's son is dead."

Due to Riza's reaction, the man was startled for a moment, and before he could explain anything, Roy informed in a single flow, "Oliver is alive," without even looking at her.

The critical revelation hit Riza like a cyclone. She went numb for a moment. Her eyes were widened and she was looking at the floor. Her breathing rate was rising at an alarming rate and she was unable to speak anything because it was hard to believe that her son was alive, when she held her son's corpse only a few days back. She was unable to process what was going on in the surrounding because she was far deep into her thoughts of understanding what Roy just said. And then suddenly, she felt a warm hug and a hand rubbing her back very gently. It was Roy, and after he got Riza's attention, he slowly lifted her head by cupping her face. He then looked into Riza's tormented eyes and said very calmly, "I will tell you everything after this."

Riza calmed down a bit when he heard those assuring words. "But, I saw and held his dead body. I cannot make any mistake while recognizing my own child," Riza stuttered.

"I will explain everything in a moment. Can you please wait outside till then?" Roy asked politely.

Riza understood that their personal problem was always going to be inferior to their duty. Generally, Roy had difficulty in separating his personal and official life, but now she was the one who had difficulty in controlling themselves. She understood that by becoming too emotional, she was acting as an obstacle in the interrogation. So, she adhered to Roy's words and went outside the room after nodding her head with agreement. She sat on a chair outside the room and was trying to calm herself, meanwhile, Roy was getting all the information from the Ishvalan man. The Ishvalan man told Roy everything he saw at the warehouse, but he had no idea about Oliver. The only thing he knew about Oliver was that the boy was kept as a hostage. Roy then recollected the information he got from Colonel Armstrong last night where he told that the monster was chasing a child. He was now suspecting that the child could be Oliver. He then went outside the room where Riza was seating on a chair waiting for him to come outside. And as soon as she saw Roy, she stood up.

Riza didn't speak, but Roy could see that her eyes were screaming for many answers. So, Roy sat beside Riza and asked Riza to sit down. Then he told her everything, from his encounter with Thomas Maxwell (IFF commander) to the imitators (the chimeras which could transform), and everything the Ishvalan told him. After listening to everything, Riza sat on a chair near her with complete disbelief on her face. So, to make her believe and to keep her hopes up, Roy placed his hand on Riza's shoulder. And when Riza looked at him, he said with a faint smile, "Everything will be okay."

But instead of getting a smile of trust in return, Riza looked at him with anger. "Everything would have been okay if you hadn't brought him to Central on the first place," She scolded.

But, before she could scold any more, a very familiar voice interrupted them. "Can I help?" Colonel Alex Armstrong asked.

Roy and Riza looked at the big man standing right in front of them. Roy now had the chance to escape from Riza's anger. So, he stood up and replied, "Yes, you can come with us to a warehouse."

"But, Sir I need to interrogate the Ishvalan man," Alex informed.

Roy walked toward Alex and said, "Don't worry about that. I have already interrogated him and I will fill you in on the way."

"But, Si-," Alex tried to persuade Roy to let him interrogate the Ishvalan man, but before he could complete his sentence, Roy interrupted with authority by saying, "It's an order, Colonel Armstrong."

Roy, Riza, and Alex then went outside the hospital where Roy's car was parked. Alex was very big to sit at the driver's seat, so Riza approached toward the driver's seat, but Roy blocked her by first reaching to the handle. "Let me drive," Roy said.

Riza glared at Roy and replied calmly, "With all due respect, Sir. It won't look good if a General is driving a car while his subordinates sit."

Roy was afraid because Riza's eyes and Riza's voice were showing polar opposite emotions. Still, he managed to gather courage and ordered while opening the door of his car, "I don't care. I will be driving, and that's an order."

Riza didn't retaliate and went to the other side to enter the car. Alex sat on the back seat like a contortionist, and Roy sat on the driver's seat. Roy then drove straight to the warehouse. Because the Ishvalan man had already informed them of the warehouse could be pretty dark inside after the attack of the creature, Roy had ordered some soldiers to bring few floodlights and follow them. So, three other soldiers followed behind Roy's car with the floodlights in a car.

While driving, Alex could feel the tension between Roy and Riza, so he asked, "Are you two having some arguments?"

Roy chuckled and replied hesitantly, "No, everything is fine."

Alex understood that everything was not fine after hearing Roy's awkward laugh. "Of course," He said skeptically.

There was silence for a moment, which Roy broke by asking, "Colonel Armstrong, what other evidences did you find at the goods station?"

"We found an abandoned car, which has been currently taken to the military facility for inspection," Alex answered.

"Then we will be going to that facility after this," Roy informed.

Sometime later they reached the warehouse, where they saw everything there was broken and stuffs were lying here and there. They saw a broken shutter in front of them and went toward it. And accurately informed by the Ishvalan man, the room behind the shutter was dark because all the lights were broken and there was no way for direct sunlight to reach there. So, Roy ordered the soldiers to bring the floodlights to light up the room.

When they switched on the lights, they saw the most gruesome scene they could ever imagine. There were human body parts spread everywhere in the room, and the walls were stained with human blood. They went more inside the room, and on one portion of the wall, they saw something ungodly. "Good god, what could have done this?" Alex's eyes were widened like everyone present there.

It was a huge claw mark and watching that, Roy said, "So, there was a monster here after all."

They went more inside the warehouse, and finally, they reached the end section where there were a few rooms and one of the walls was torn apart. Sunlight was directly entering through the broken wall, lighting up the section. They could see that everything there was messed up, and there were bullet holes on the walls like in all other sections. "I guess the monster would have escaped from here. But then, why would it do that?"

"Let's check the rooms, we may find some clues there," Riza advised.

They looked inside the room where Thomas was living, and they saw some files lying there, and a map of the Central city with some notes and photographs on it. "Looks like we found the plans of IFF," Alex said.

They collected as much evidence as they could. After exploring Thomas' room, they entered the room where Oliver was kept as a hostage. They looked in the room and saw a rope was lying on the bed. They couldn't comprehend that Oliver was kept in the room from watching the single rope on the bed. Besides that there was were unable to find any sufficient clue which could help them to reach to a conclusion that Oliver was there. After exploring every section, Roy looked at Alex and asked, "Is it true that the people at the goods station reported that they saw a boy riding the train?"

"Yes Sir," Alex answered.

"Find out about the train, where all did it stop and whatever information you can acquire about it," Roy ordered

"Yes Sir," Alex responded.


	58. Savior (Part 2 - Button)

The car which was found by the military besides the railway tracks was at one of the military facility and Roy, Riza, and Alex went there after exploring the warehouse. They went to the office of the chief of the forensics responsible for searching the car for clues. He was waiting for them because Alex had already informed him. Once they entered inside, the chief was standing. Watching him, Alex questioned, "Did you find anything?"

"We collected some evidence from inside the car," The chief informed.

"Can you show us the evidence?" Alex asked.

The chief opened the lid of a box on his desk and then showed them the things which were collected from the car. Roy first picked up a photograph from the box. It was a black and white old photograph which had the images of Thomas, Rolan, Richard (Oliver's maths teacher), Richard's daughter and Scar's Master. In the image, everyone was smiling and Rolan was carrying Richard's 5-year-old daughter on his arms. "Mr. Pandit (Scar's Master) with three of the top guns of IFF, that's interesting," Roy said.

"I know about Richard Green. Do you know the other two men as well?" Alex asked curiously.

"Yes, I…met them…in very compromising circumstances," Roy answered hesitantly.

Meanwhile, Riza noticed a button in the box. She quickly took out the button from the box to have a better look. And as soon as she saw it, she recognized the custom made button that Roy had bought for the first school uniform of his son. And watching that tiny button, Riza started chuckling with tears forming in her eyes. Her reaction caught Roy's and Alex's attention instantly. "What happened?" Roy enquired.

"He is alive…Oli is alive, "Riza replied with mild chuckles and tears of happiness.

Roy looked at the button she was holding and recognized it instantly as Riza did. He smiled as well after getting an assurance that Oliver could be alive. And then suddenly, a soldier interrupted them, "Excuse me, Colonel Armstrong."

When everyone looked at the soldier, he saluted and stood straight. "What is it?" Alex asked.

"We have collected some information about the train which you asked for. It is going to Youswell, and it stopped for the first time at East City where the driver left the train. He was panicked for some reason, because of which a new driver had to take his place. A few minutes ago it left the Cameron station," The soldier informed.

"Nice work," Alex praised.

"We have to search all the places in the route where the train has stopped or going to stop," Roy proposed.

"But, it will take a lot of time Sir, and tomorrow is the Amestris-Xing meeting," Alex said.

"The search operation won't affect the meeting Colonel. Send the photograph and description of Oliver to the Eastern Command and tell them to organize a search operation in the area where the train has stopped. Also, give them the instruction to proceed carefully if they see any person with Oliver," Roy ordered and continued, "If I am not wrong then the unconscious person who boarded the train could be the leader of IFF, Thomas Maxwell."

"Yes Sir," Alex responded.

Riza didn't think to interrupt while Roy was taking the decisions. She was standing behind quietly, eagerly waiting for Roy to give her some command.

 **Meanwhile, at a border village in Eastern Area,** a small group of military officers including Lieutenant General Swindale Abingdon of Eastern Command were waiting for someone to arrive. After some time their wait was over when they saw some people riding on horses were proceeding toward them. It was Ling and his company who arrived there to attend the first ever official Amestris-Xing meeting, which was to be held the next day. When they got off their horses, Swindale walked toward Ling and said with a smile, "Welcome Prince Ling Yao to Amestris. I am Lieutenant General Swindale Abingdon, my subordinates and I will take care of you and your companions from here."

Ling stood straight and murmured, "Wow, this experience is very much different than the last time."

Mei who was standing right beside him heard him and whispered, "You are right, last time I had a hard time just to find some food."

Meanwhile, Hu Zemin (political advisor of Ling) came forward to talk with the General. He smiled and said, "Hello General, I am Hu Zemin, and I am Prince Ling's advisor. You can talk to me instead of talking to the prince directly."

Swindale looked at Ling curiously, due to which Ling instantly replied, "Yes, yes, you talk to him. And bring us some food."

"Sure, let me first take you to a place where you can relax and have food," Swindale said.

Ling, Yang, Hu, and Swindale then got into a big car with a military driver, and the others took another car. The other cars surrounded the big car like a layer of armor while driving. There were two cars at the front and two cars at the back of the big car. Inside the big car, Swindale and Yang were sitting opposite to Hu and Ling. While they were going to a hotel which was preoccupied with the military due to the arrival of Ling, Swindale looked at Hu and informed, "We will leave for Central by tonight's train. The meeting is tomorrow evening."

"Are all the Generals coming for tomorrow's meeting?" Hu asked.

"Except Major General Volkmar of Western Command and Lieutenant General Armstrong of Northern Command, everyone will be there," Swindale replied and after a small pause, he questioned, "May I ask you a question?"

"Yes please," Hu answered.

"Why didn't the Emperor come himself?" Swindale asked.

"Prince Ling was involved in the fight against the terrorists at Central command, so the Emperor thought that it will be better if Prince Ling goes for the first visit," Hu replied and continued, "It's good that our leaders are becoming more understanding now."

After some time they reached the hotel. When Ling got inside the hotel, the first thing he saw was a smiling fat man welcoming him and others. "Welcome Prince L-," The man greeted, but before he could complete his sentence, Ling interrupted by saying, "Where is the food?"

The man was startled for a moment, then he looked at Ling with a smile and answered, "Oh, it's in the dining hall."

"Take me there," Ling said.

"Of course, please come with me," The man turned around and began walking toward the dining room.

He took Ling to the dining hall where there was a big elliptical table, and lots of dishes were placed on it. Ling rushed to the table and started eating the food present there like a barbarian. Watching that the man started laughing hesitantly, but he stopped laughing when he saw all the Xingese join their prince at the table, except Hu.

The man walked close to Ling and asked with a hesitant chuckle, "So, how is the food, Prince?"

But, he did not receive any answer, because everyone was focused on eating. He took a few steps back and stopped when he realized that someone was standing behind him. He turned around and saw Swindale was looking at the Xingese with an annoyed face. "Aren't they ill-mannered?" Swindale commented.

The man looked at Swindale with a confused look. He didn't know whether he should agree with him or not.


	59. Savior (Part 3 - Cameron)

**[Cameron, a town in Eastern Area]**

After the fight against the creature at the warehouse, Thomas and Oliver were able to escape unscathed from the place. But, the creature chased them to the goods station where Thomas got injured while coming in between Oliver and the creature. Still, both of them managed to board the train and escape from the danger.

Next afternoon, the train arrived at Cameron station, and there were next to no one at the station. Oliver was asleep with Thomas lying unconscious beside him, and when the train stopped, Oliver woke up from his slumber. Oliver saw Thomas unconscious, he wanted to get off that train, but he was unable to leave an injured man behind. Then suddenly, he heard some distinct noises, "Hey come over here, this wagon is open."

Oliver then heard some fast footsteps approaching him, and after a few moments, he saw a 12-13 years old boy standing outside the train, looking toward him with surprise. Soon, 3 other kids came, out of which there were 2 boys and 1 girl. All of them were around the same age group and all of them were wearing shirts and suspender pants. The first boy who arrived there was black haired and slim, also he was the tallest among all. One of the boys was bulky and brown haired, while the other boy was skinny, brown-haired and he was wearing big glasses. And the girl who was with them was a brunette, wearing a ponytail. The black haired boy who arrived there first, curiously looked at Oliver and asked, "Who are you?"

"Can you first help me bring him out? He needs a doctor," Oliver asked.

All of them saw Thomas who was unconscious and his head was bandaged. So, the black haired boy questioned, "Is he your father?"

"No," Oliver answered.

"Are you two criminals, and running from the military?" The girl asked very casually.

"No," Oliver replied.

"Then why are you hiding in a freight train's wagon?" The girl enquired.

"We were running from a monster," Oliver answered without any hesitation.

"Don't try to fool us, we know monsters aren't real," The boy with glasses said.

"Still we need to take him to a doctor. He is seriously injured," Oliver informed.

All the kids circled around and started discussing among themselves, then after a few moments, they looked at Oliver and the black haired boy said, "Fine, we will help you."

The girl and the boy wearing glasses got inside the wagon and dragged Thomas by his legs to the door along with Oliver. At the door, the black haired boy and the bulky boy held his legs from outside, the other 2 kids with Oliver held his arms and they successfully carried him outside the wagon. After the immense physical work, all of them took a breath to calm down. "Let's take him to our cart," The black haired boy said after a moment.

Everyone carried him to their cart which was kept on the other side of the station. And there was no one watching them while doing that because the station was almost virtually vacant. Soon they reached to their cart which was a looking like a tricycle, but with 5 tires instead and the area just behind the driver seat was a big carrier. The kids placed Thomas on the carrier, and the bulky boy rode the tricycle to paddle, while everyone else was walking. While walking, Oliver introduced himself by saying, "By the way, my name is Oliver."

"My name is Harvey," The black haired boy replied.

"I am Isa," The girl said. After that, the boy wearing the glasses introduced himself by saying, "I am Alvin."

And finally, the bulky boy who was paddling raised his hand and said, "I am Reggie."

"So, where are you from Oliver?" Isa asked.

"Central City," Oliver replied.

"Lucky you," Harvey commented.

"Aren't your parents going to miss you, now that you are here?" Isa questioned.

"Yeah, my father will go crazy. I think Ms. Hawkeye will get even madder… she is my father's subordinate by the way," Oliver answered.

As soon as Alvin heard the word 'subordinate', he quickly inquired, "Is your father in the military?"

"Yes. In fact, he is a General," Oliver replied calmly.

Reggie stopped paddling, and everyone was looking at Oliver with widened eyes. "What! Your father is a General in the military?" Reggie exclaimed.

Oliver smiled when he received such a reaction from the kids. He couldn't stop bragging about his father and continued, "He is even a state alchemist. You may know him by the name, Roy Mustang – the flame alchemist."

"What! Your father is the flame alchemist?" Reggie shouted again with a surprised face.

But, whatever Oliver spoke, sounded unconvincing. So, Alvin asked, "If you are really the flame alchemist's son, then what are you doing here?"

"I told you, we were attacked by a monster," Oliver replied.

"I think he is lying guys," Harvey interrupted.

Reggie again started paddling the cart, and the other kids resumed walking. Meanwhile, Oliver continued convincing them desperately, "The monster was real, you would have believed if you had seen it. It was like a human but with four arms, and it was crawling. It was pitch black in color with glowing red eyes, and it was very big."

"If the monster was attacking you, then why didn't your father and his other alchemist friends stop it?" Alvin questioned.

"None of the militaries were present there when we were attacked," Oliver answered.

"It's hard to believe anything you are saying," Harvey said.

"I was kidnapped by his people," Oliver pointed toward Thomas and continued, "so my father was not with me. If he would have been there then he would have burnt that monster to ashes."

Still, the answer was not convincing enough. Everyone continued walking, and Alvin asked, "If he kidnapped you, then why are you are trying to save him?"

"Even though he kidnapped me, he tried to protect me with his life when we were attacked by the monster, and he got injured from that," Oliver informed.

"I don't know if you are telling the truth or not, but I do know that monsters exist only in fairy tales," Harvey said.

In the meantime, they reached the hospital which was far smaller when compared to the hospitals in Central City. Reggie dismounted from the tricycle and said, "Call someone to carry him in."

Isa and Oliver went into the hospital and brought two nurses with them who took Thomas into the hospital. Oliver told everything to the nurses and the doctor who was attending to Thomas. After that, everyone got out of the hospital. "Let's go, guys," Harvey proposed.

"Where are you going?" Oliver questioned.

"The train must have left the station by now, so we are going to the lake," Harvey answered.

"You should come with us. We will introduce you to our Oliver," Isa said with a smile.

"You have a friend whose name is also Oliver?" Oliver asked excitedly.

Isa, Alvin, and Reggie started laughing when they saw Oliver's excitement. "Yes, and he is very big unlike you," Alvin replied while laughing.

"Let's go, see for yourself," Isa said.

All the four kids took Oliver to the lake and sat under a big shady thorn-less fruitless black Olive tree. When Oliver couldn't find anyone besides them, and everyone sitting calmly, he asked curiously, "Where is the other Oliver?"

"You are sitting just below him," Alvin replied.

Oliver looked around, but he couldn't understand. "What do you mean?" Oliver questioned.

"This olive tree was planted a very long time ago. This tree is a landmark of our town, and we call it Oliver," Harvey answered.

"People say there is no other olive tree like it, because it is very big, shady and thornless, which are generally not the characteristics of an olive tree. People also say that it lost its ability to bear fruit in exchange for its uniqueness," Isa added.

Oliver looked at the unique tree with whom he shared his name. While he was looking at the tree, he felt like he had been there. He thought, "Why do I feel like I have been to this place?"


	60. Savior (Part 4 - Granny's Cakes)

**[Othon – Capital of Drachma]**

Boris, Maria, and Danny had reached Othon after solving the chimera problem of village Selonova. Boris left Toby at an isolated part at the outskirt of the city where barely any human went, and which was being used as one of the waste dumping grounds. The city was not populated like any major cities of Amestris. Most of the buildings had a gable roof with a chimney, and the road had tile like flourishing. When the team reached Othon, it was already evening, so they rented a room and rested there.

After relaxing for hours, Maria was the first one to wake up. When she looked outside the glass window, she found out that it was night time. She went to the window to have a look outside and saw people were wandering in the city like the daytime. But, when she looked at the clock hanging on the wall, she saw that the hour hand was in between two and three. So, she was surprised by thinking that people were wandering on the roads at 2 in the night. Then suddenly, she heard the sound of flushing from the bathroom and soon after that Boris came out of the bathroom while yawning. On the other hand, Danny was still sleeping on the floor under a blanket, like a bear hibernating in its den.

"Why are people wandering on the streets this late?" Maria asked.

"It's morning time," Boris stretched his arms.

"But, the sun has not risen yet," Maria said.

"Othon has six months of day and six months of night, and unfortunately for us, the last day ended yesterday," Boris explained and continued, "Now, get ready. We are going to meet your Amestrian friend."

"What's his name?" Maria questioned.

"Looks like your General didn't tell you everything. The person is not a he, it's a she, and I don't know her real name, but she goes by the name **Gabriella**. She is a maid at the palace," Boris replied.

"From how many years she is in Othon?" Maria enquired.

"Probably 5 years," Boris answered.

In the meantime, Danny woke up and looked out of the window, and spoke in a drowsy voice, "Oh, it's still night?" And soon after that, he got back into his blanket.

Looking at Danny's action, Boris requested to Maria, "Can you please wake him up, we have to hurry."

"Sure," Maria smiled and then moved toward Danny with an annoyed face. She kicked Danny and yelled, "WAKE UP YOU IDIOT. WE ARE NOT HERE ON A VACATION."

After some time everyone got ready and were walking on the street. While walking, Danny asked, "Where are we going to meet Gabriella?"

"At a cake shop. Gabriella comes there every day because most of the cakes for the guests at the palace are prepared in that shop," Boris informed.

"Doesn't the cooks at the palace make cakes?" Maria questioned.

"The shop is very old, it is serving the palace for generations. The first king of Drachma - Ivanov the first used to eat desserts at that place, especially cakes," Boris answered.

Then after a moment, Boris stopped before a bakery shop. There was a fancy name sign board where it was written **Granny's Cakes**. Maria and Danny were amazed when they entered the shop because it was far huge and far busy compared to what appeared outside.

As soon as they entered the shop, a woman in her late twenties wearing the uniform of the shop which was a turtleneck sweater with skirts and long socks came to them. "May I help you?" The woman smiled.

"Yes, we would like to have a seat for three," Boris replied.

"Of course. Please come with me," The woman said.

The woman then took them to a private chamber where a well-toned white woman in her early thirties was waiting for them. She was a brunette with mid shoulder length hairs. She was wearing red lipstick, two big ring-shaped earrings, a brown turtleneck sweater and a fur coat over her sweater. After accompanying them to the chamber, the female attendant went back.

Boris looked at the woman and greeted, "Hello Gabriella."

"Hi Boris," The woman reciprocated and looked at Maria and Danny, and said, "You must be Maria and Danny."

"Yes," Maria replied.

"Have a seat, and let's straight get down to business," Gabriella proposed.

Everyone took their seats around that semicircular table in the chamber. As soon as everyone was comfortable, Gabriella began, "Ivanov the first's birthday will be celebrated after 15 days from now throughout the country, and on that day various artists come to the palace to perform and get rewards from the King. Because of that ceremony, the work increases and hence the palace requires more workers than normal. So, the palace organizes a competition for three days, where they select some civilians to work at the palace," She looked at Maria and Danny, and then continued, "One of you need to be among the winners of the competition, and I will help you as far as I can. That's the only way to get into the palace. But, there is still a problem."

"What?" Maria and Danny looked curiously at Gabriella.

"The first selection process has already ended," Gabriella informed.

"Then how are we going to participate in the competition?" Maria asked.

"The head of staff will come here today. One of you will go to him and try to convince him for a job. He is a very sympathetic guy, so make up some sad story to get employed," Gabriella replied.

"Alright," Maria said with confidence.

Watching Maria's confidence, Gabriella smiled and said, "I guess then Maria is going to participate in the competition. As for you Danny, you will be accompanying Boris outside the palace for clues."

"Roger that," Danny acknowledged without any hesitation.

Gabriella then sighed and asked, "Alright then. Do you have any questions?"

"Can you tell us what other insights you gathered till now?" Maria questioned.

"Sure," Gabriella replied and continued, "I have been tracking down the military activities throughout the city and some meetings which take place in the palace. Recently, the number of chimeras in the military has increased. I am still unable to find where the chimeras are being created in Drachma, but that has something to do with Lab C, and that lab is somewhere in Othon, hidden in plain sight."

Everyone was shocked as soon as they heard the mention of Lab C. "Even we came across a chimera, and we got proof that they are definitely being created at Lab C," Danny informed.

"Are there alchemists in Drachma?" Maria enquired.

"There are a few, but they are not as strong as the state alchemists of Amestris," Gabriella answered.

"Chimera creation is a human transmutation, so it cannot be done without a philosopher's stone," Maria added.

"What? Philosopher stone? Is that even a real thing?" Gabriella looked at Maria with widened eyes.

"Yes. Even we thought it to be just fictional, but it's real. And unfortunately, the process for creating a philosopher stone requires human souls," Maria replied.

"Do you mean like killing people?" Gabriella narrowed her eyes.

"Yes," Maria answered.

After learning those strange truths from Maria, Gabriella took a deep breath. Then after a moment, she said, "Well I cannot assure you about philosopher stones, but chimeras are a real thing in Drachma. And they are increasing very rapidly."

"Do you happen to know about any train that picks up single people from certain remote locations?" Boris asked.

"No, why do you ask?" Gabriella curiously looked at Boris.

"Because the train which we took to Othon was doing just that, and we got off that train before we could get caught," Danny interrupted.

"That's weird," Gabriella looked at Danny with furrowed brows and continued, "All this time, I never heard or saw that train"

Suddenly, the waitress who took them to that chamber entered with three slices of carrot cake. She put the cakes on the table, looked at Gabriella and informed, "He is coming. You should leave."

Gabriella got off her seat and said, "Danny, try to find the lab with Boris. I believe it is somewhere in this city. If you need any help then reach out to her," She looked toward the waitress.

Danny nodded his head, and Gabriella left after that, whereas Danny, Maria, and Boris took their time to eat the carrot cakes before them, in order to reduce the chances of raising any suspicion. After finishing off the cakes, Maria stood up and said, "It's my turn to get a job now. I will meet you two at the bar which we saw on the way."

Danny smiled and replied, "Alright. Best of luck."

Boris followed on and said, "Good luck."

Maria thanked them and went to meet the head of staff, whereas Boris and Danny waited there for some time before leaving. When she came out of the private chamber section and entered the main hall, she saw the manager was standing before a tall, bulky man in his fifties. The man was wearing a fur coat and the small amount of gray hair he had, were being tied as a bun at the back. The man was very noticeable because the man was speaking with him very respectfully while he was occupying a normal customer table for two people, and almost all the staff members were cautiously looking at him. Maria was pretty sure that the person was the head of staff at the palace when she overheard the conversation going on between the man and the manager.

"How is the preparation going on?" The Head asked the manager.

"It is going as we planned, Sir. You shouldn't have bothered to come here. You could have just told me, I would have come to you," The manager replied.

The Head laughed and said, "No, it's fine. Sometimes it's good to come out of the palace, and see the city around."

"Of course," The manager smiled.

"You must have figured out why I am here," The Head smiled and continued, "As you know the King's day is coming. I need some people who can work at the palace for these 15-20 days."

"I have already selected a few of our employees myself. I will send them to the palace tomorrow," The manager informed.

"As expected of you... Now can you please bring me my favorite cake?" The Head requested.

"Sure. Let me take you to your chamber, Sir," The manager replied.

"No, it's fine. I don't need a private chamber, I will be sitting out here," The Head said.

"As you wish," The manager smiled and went back to the kitchen to bring his order. And in the meantime, Maria took this opportunity to have a conversation with the Head of staff. She went near the head of staff and said, "Excuse me, Sir," to get his attention.

The Head looked at Maria and asked politely, "Yes. How may I help you?"

"I overheard that you were looking for some workers. My name is Maria, I am from village Selonova, and I am in a desperate need of work, Sir," Maria explained.

"Selonova, hmm," The Head thought for a moment and continued, "Is it the village where mostly old people live?"

"Yes," Maria replied with sad eyes.

The Head didn't think for a moment and said, "Fine, come to the palace tomorrow at 8:00 AM sharp." He then pulled out a pen from his shirt pocket, wrote something on a piece of paper and signed on it, and he gave it to Maria. "When you reach the front door tomorrow, show this to the guards. They will let you in," He instructed.

"Thank you so much, Sir," Maria acted to be desperate and The Head believed in her.

"Don't thank me. I haven't given you the job yet, I just gave you an opportunity," The Head smiled.

In the meantime, the manager brought a small chocolate crust cake with orange caviar and saffron as toppings and put it on the table. "Thank you for your patience, Sir," The manager said.

"A delicious treat is always worth waiting," The Head tucked the white napkin on the table, under his collars and picked up the knife and fork like a child. But, before eating, he looked at Maria who was standing and said, "Please have a seat."

"It's okay Sir," Maria hesitated.

"I insist," The Head responded sharply.

Maria sighed and moved to the opposite end and she sat. The Head then cut a slice from his cake and gave it to Maria on a plate. After that, he started eating his portion, while Maria was yet to start. Watching that the Head said, "Eat Maria."

Maria quickly grabbed the fork and knife as soon as she heard The Head. While eating, the Head said, "I have heard that all the young people of your village have come to Othon for a better living."

"Yes Sir," Maria replied.

"What about the animal attacks? Has it reduced?" The Head asked.

"We have become used to live in those conditions, Sir," Maria answered.

The Head stopped eating the cake and put his knife and fork on the plate. He sighed and looked at Maria. "I cannot speak on behalf of the military, but, I can only say that you took the right decision by coming to Othon," He said and continued after a small pause, "So, with whom do you live there?"

"My aunt. She is blind. So, I have to make money in order to feed ourselves," Maria replied confidently as if it was the truth.

The Head said, "Great," and resumed eating his cake. After finishing the cake, he wiped his mouth with the napkin hanging below his neck and put it on the table. He then stood up and looked at Maria. "Show me tomorrow, how desperately you need this job. And don't be late," He smiled and left the shop while the manager accompanied him outside, to his car.


	61. Savior (Part 5 - The Bar)

After getting permission from The Head of staffs at the palace to participate in the upcoming competition for staff selection, Maria went out of Granny's Cakes. She wandered around in the market area and then went to the bar where she asked Danny and Boris to wait for her. When she arrived at the bar, she searched for them and found Danny was sitting on a sofa at a corner. He was so occupied with drinking beer and talking to a girl that he didn't know when Maria was standing right in front of him. So, she interrupted, "Ahmm…Danny?"

Danny was startled and he turned to look at Maria. "Hey," He said with a forced smile.

"Where is Boris?" Maria enquired.

"I don't know, he told me that he will meet us at the hotel," He replied and continued, "What about your job? Did you get it?"

"I have asked to come to the palace tomorrow," She answered.

"Great," Danny praised.

"Shall I bring you anything to drink?" Maria asked.

Danny stood up and said, "Wait, let me bring the drinks. You must be tired."

"It's alright," Maria insisted by stopping him with her hand on his shoulder.

"If you insist then I will have a beer," Danny smiled and sat down with his beer mug.

Maria was expecting Danny to insist on bringing the drinks, but he gave up so easily. She turned around and spoke softly, "Stupid." She then went to the counter with a pissed off face and ordered two beers. The bartender gave her two mugs full of beer. She picked up the mugs and moved toward Danny, but while going, she collided with a tall, bulky bearded man and she spilled some beer from her mugs on the man's jacket in the process. She quickly looked at the man with widened eyes and apologized.

The man looked at her and smiled. He then moved his hand close to her face and lightly squeezed her cheek. "Why don't you lick it off instead of saying sorry?" The man grinned.

Maria ignored him and tried to move past him, but the man held her shoulder. "Where do you think you are going, Miss? Didn't you listen to what I just said?" The man said.

"Leave me," Maria hissed.

"Why don't you make me?" The man smiled.

Maria didn't want to jeopardize her mission by getting into a bar fight. So, she sighed and replied politely, "Please leave me, Sir"

"If you really want me to leave you, then lick off the beer from my shirt," The man said.

Everyone in the bar was looking at them, but no one was doing anything about the harassment going on. But then suddenly, Maria heard a familiar voice, "Hey Maria, have you brought my beer?" Danny was walking toward Maria.

Maria was relieved to see Danny coming for her aide. Danny came near, took one mug from her hand and drank some beer from that mug. He then held Maria's wrist and pulled her by saying, "Let's go, I need to talk to you."

When Maria tried to move, the man's grip on Maria's shoulder got tighter. Watching that, Danny said, "You are hurting her."

"Then why don't you save her?" The man teased.

Danny left Maria's wrist and went near the man. He was barely reaching the chin of the man, that's how tall the man was. Still, Danny made direct eye contact with the man without any sign of fear, and said, "We don't want any trouble"

"Oh sorry to disappoint you, but you are already in one," The man held Maria's shoulder more tightly.

"Please leave her, Sir," Danny requested.

"You can show me how much of a man you are, but it seems you are nothing but a pussy," The man further insulted Danny by spitting on the floor.

Danny couldn't control his anger anymore and spilled all the beer in his mug on the man's shirt. The man looked at his wet shirt and slowly left Maria's shoulder. After that, he punched Danny on his stomach, and just after getting one punch Danny held his belly and fell on his knees. Meanwhile, the man said, "How pathetic," he spat on the floor and continued, "You can't even protect your girl."

Listening to those harsh words, Danny raised his head up and glared at the man. When he tried to stand up, he was kicked on the face by the man while the whole crowd in the bar were looking very silently. Maria was unable to see Danny getting humiliated and beaten by that man, so she smashed the beer mug she was holding onto the man's head. She thought it would hurt the man, but there was barely a scratch on the man's face and his whole face was wet with beer. Maria's action was more than enough to anger the man. The man was so angry that he was about to punch Maria, but before he could punch her, he heard a man's voice saying, "Would you really hit a woman? What a disgrace."

The tall man looked toward the man who interrupted him and found that a silver-haired man, wearing a polar bear coat was sitting at the counter drinking vodka in a tumbler with crushed ice in it, and a lemon slice on top of it with mint leaves. He was having his drink very peacefully without caring what could happen after his statement whereas the bartender standing before him was trembling in fear. His calmness made the tall man angrier, because of which he lowered down his hand and walked toward the silver-haired man. And after getting closer to him, the tall man held the silver-haired man's shoulder and forcefully turned him toward him.

It was the man who was referred to as The King, by the Marshal of the Drachmann Federation, Clifton Kozlov and the Prime Minister of Drachma, Sieglaff. But it seemed, nobody recognized him. Moreover, there was no security in the bar which he should definitely have if he was the King of Drachma. However, when the tall man forcefully turned his chair by grabbing his shoulder, he was calm, whereas the tall man was glaring at him. "So you think you are man enough to stop me from hitting the woman?" The tall man growled.

"Yes," The King replied calmly.

The attitude of the King angered the tall man even more. He shouted, "I will beat you to a pulp, then I will take your expensive polar bear coat from you, and then I will beat that woman in front of your eyes."

The King stood up from his chair and directly looked at the tall man with his green eyes by raising his head. "Why don't you stop talking and show me what you can do?" He said with no fear in his eyes.

Now the tall man had enough. He grabbed the King's polar bear coat by the collar with one hand and moved his other hand to punch the face. But, before his fist could touch the King's face, the King stopped the punch with one hand and held his wrist with another hand. The King then slowly moved the tall man's hand from his collar without even breaking a sweat and headbutted that man. The headbutt hit the tall man at his nose because of his height, and his nose started bleeding. He fell on the floor and got unconscious within a few seconds. Watching the tall man fall, the King fixed his coat and said calmly, "As I thought, you were nothing but just talks"

Everyone looked at the tall man lying on the floor unconscious which was a bit unbelievable. And when the King was about to move back to his chair, he heard many people standing up at once. He turned around and found out that almost all the customers were standing, except a few people, who were the employees at the bar. They were undoubtedly the gang members in the tall man's gang.

After a few moments, a seven feet plus bald man walked toward the King and stood a few feet away from him. He was clearly the boss of the gang to which the tall man belonged. First, he looked at Maria and said, "I am sorry for what he did to you." Then he looked toward the King and continued, "As for you, we have to beat you to a pulp, as our brother told you."

The other gang members closed the exit door, every non-gang member present in the bar moved out of the way between the King and the gang members. Watching that, Maria looked at the King and apologized by saying, "Sorry, you got involved."

"Now that I am involved, it will be better if you back off a little to a safe place," The King said.

"Do you really think you can beat us all?" The boss laughed.

"I don't think. I know it," The King replied.

Every gang member started laughing after listening to his reply along with their boss. "You are funny," The boss said while laughing and continued, "I like you. I have decided, I will let you go…if you say sorry for what you did."

It was a very reasonable and safe bargain, but instead of accepting the offer, The King lifted his right leg and kicked the unconscious man lying on the floor, on the face, breaking some of his teeth. Then he replied, "Sorry for what I did."

The boss stopped laughing and with that, every gang member stopped laughing. There was silence in the bar and many angry eyes were fixed on the King to take revenge. Meanwhile, the King removed his coat and gave it to the bartender at the counter and said, "Keep it clean."

Watching his utter calmness in that situation, few of the gang members walked toward the King. When the first gangster reached near the King and was about to attack him, he held the head of that gangster with one hand and hit that gangster's head on the counter. Then he backward kicked the other gangster behind him on the thighs, due to which that gangster fell on the knees. The King then left the first gangster's head and quickly turned back. He punched the second gangster who was on the knees on the face, making him spit blood and get unconscious within a moment. He then quickly picked up another gangster with one hand and threw him on a group of gangsters running toward him. Watching that, all the gangsters pulled out their knives and brass knuckles. Meanwhile, the King moved to the center of the bar with confidence, and said, "I hope this will be a better location for you to attack me."

The words from the King's mouth were acting as fuels to the rapidly increasing anger of the gangsters. Many gangsters surrounded him from all the sides and they slowly closed into him. Due to their cautious slow movement, the King got impatient and quickly ran toward a group of gangsters. His movement was so fast that the gangsters had no time to react. When they realized that he moved from his place, he was already holding the neck of one gangster. He lifted him up and was slowly choking him. Watching that, the gang members standing beside him tried to attack him. But, before they could reach him, he slammed the man he was holding by the neck on the floor and quickly grabbed the waistband of another gangster's pant. He then threw that gangster toward another group of gangsters who were going to attack him and turned around to look at a group of gangsters who were coming toward him. But, when they saw the calm and unafraid eyes of the King, none of them dared to come near him. In the meantime, the boss quickly came from behind and he was about to hit him with his brass knuckles on. But, he just missed to hit the King, his fist just grazed the King's shirt when the King tried to dodge the attack. The King then quickly turned around and saw a punch coming toward him. However, he dodged the attack and punched the boss in his stomach. The boss withstood the pain and tried to punch him again. Again the King dodged his attack and punched the boss on his chest. The boss started coughing blood when he received the punch and fell on his knees. "Stay down, and I promise I will spare your life," The King said.

When the gang members saw their boss on his knees and coughing blood, one of them asked, "Are you, alright Boss?"

"Yes," The boss smiled while coughing blood.

The gangsters who were still on their feet understood that their boss was hurt badly, but he was too proud to admit it. How could they give up when their boss was not ready to lose from the King? They got enraged and charged toward the King, and the King fought them without even breaking a sweat. His one punch was enough to make them unconscious, and after some time, the bar was filled with a lot of unconscious gangsters. When he punched the last gang member in the bar, the boss pulled out his gun and pointed toward the King. "What are you?" The boss asked with widened eyes, while his hands were trembling while holding the gun.

The King looked at him and replied, "A better future."

But, his answer angered the man and the boss fired two shots from his handgun. Unfortunately, both the bullets missed him and hit the bottles on the shelf behind. The boss couldn't believe that he failed to hit him, because of which he lowered his gun and head, out of disappointment. The King went near him, and placed his hand over his head and said, "First defeat is always bitter."

He then moved past the boss, to the counter and asked the bartender for his coat. The bartender was trembling while giving back his coat. And after taking his coat, he opened one of the exit doors and left the bar, while everyone conscious watched him with widened eyes.


	62. Confrontation (Part 1 - Hall H)

**[Othon – The Capital of Drachma]**

After almost jeopardizing the mission, Maria and Danny went back to their hotel to rest and prepare for what was about to come next. The next sunless day, Maria went to the palace and found an expected long queue before the main gate. It was the first day of the **Staff Selection Competition** , and people from all part of the country were gathered to compete against each other. There were approximately 100 candidates waiting in the queue which contained both males and females who held an invitation for appearing the test. They were properly checked by the security before being allowed inside the premise. It took some time, but finally, everyone entered inside and then gathered in the central field of the palace premise. Maria was standing among the other candidates when suddenly she heard an excited girl's voice, "Is this your first time appearing for the test?"

Maria looked beside her and saw the green eyes of a young girl of the same age and height as hers, looking at her. The girl had brown, shoulder length hair and she was wearing a brown coat. "Ye…Yes, "Maria stuttered.

"Mine too," The girl smiled and continued after a small pause, "Where are you from?"

"Selonova village," Maria answered.

"Selonova?" The girl narrowed her eyes.

"My village is 30 miles away from Othon," Maria replied.

"I see," The girl acknowledged.

In the meantime, the Head of Staff, Gabriella, the woman who provided all the information to Maria and Danny at Granny's Cakes, and a tall fat man with few strands of gray hairs, wearing the attire of a chef, walked toward the platform constructed for the event. After reaching there, the Head of staff walked closer to the mic present at the center of the platform. He then cleared his throat to get the attention of all the candidates and then said, "For all who don't know me, I am the Head of staff **Yegor Netto**. I will be your supreme commander, which means, what I will order, you have to adhere or you can leave anytime you want," He smiled and continued, "On my right-hand side is the Head Chef of the palace **, Chef Wolfos Ruck**. Don't get intimidated by his size, he is a very sweet person, that is until you follow his orders in the kitchen." The candidates laughed, due to which Wolfos smiled which seemed very forced, while Yegor continued, "On my left-hand side is the Chief maid, **Ms. Gabriella Karpin**. I know she is very beautiful, and if any of you male participant ever manage to take her out, then please let me know." The laughs were not stopping, while Yegor finished by saying, "We three will be giving you tasks and judging you based on your performance, and do not think we will show any mercy or pity. So, give it everything you have."

Everyone applauded and when the sound of applause diminished, Yegor began again, "Now, congratulations to all of you to make it here," He applauded along with Wolfos and Gabriella, which was followed by the candidates as well. And then he continued, "This year we have 25 vacancies, but 5 positions have already been taken by the top 5 employees at Granny's Cakes, as usual, which leaves 20 positions for which this year's test will be taken. Once you get selected, you can become a permanent staff here. Besides that, the top 3 temporary staffs will be rewarded with prize money of ten thousand ribble each… Now Ms. Gabriella will give you further instructions."

Yegor left the mic to let Gabriella take over the stage. Gabriella proceeded and thanked Yegor along with a smile. She then looked at the candidates and said, "There will be 3 tests in total in the span of 3 days and each test will be a knockout round. The tests are prepared in such a way that you will be tested on all the aspects of serving the King and the other important figures of the country. The first test will start after 1 hour in Hall H where the details of the test will also be revealed. Try to reach there in time, otherwise, you will be disqualified. Any questions?" She looked at the crowd for some time, but she neither heard anyone nor did she see any hand raise. So, she finished by saying, "Best of luck," with a smile.

Everyone was excited about the test. And the girl who was talking to Maria replied along with many other candidates to the "Best of luck" of Gabriella by shouting, "Thank you, Ma'am."

Meanwhile, Maria was looking at Gabriella and she was thinking, "So, Gabriella is the Chief Maid. That is pretty helpful I guess." And then suddenly, the girl standing beside Maria said, "Before we become competitors, let me introduce myself. I am Jane from a village on the eastern side of Drachma. You wouldn't know it if I say its name though."

Maria looked at Jane and replied, "My name is Maria."

"Nice to meet you, Maria," Jane smiled.

"Nice to meet you too, Jane," Maria reciprocated.

In the meantime, Yegor, Gabriella, and Wolfos then left the stage, while some of the volunteers stayed there to help the candidates with queries.

After some time, all the candidates went to Hall H in order to avoid any disqualification. But, the gates of Hall H were closed. When it was exactly one hour, the gates were opened and the candidates were allowed to get inside. Jane and Maria tagged along even after they entered inside Hall H. Inside, they found out that the first test was clearly a cooking examination. There were lots of cooking equipment, lots of vegetables and spices carts. But, the thing that was unique among everything present there, was a big pond at the center of the hall. And at the extreme end of the hall, Chef Wolfos Ruck was waiting for the candidates, where gradually every candidate gathered to receive the next set of instructions from the judge of test 1.


	63. Confrontation (Part 2 - Escargots)

When the candidates arrived at Hall H, they saw various cooking equipment and ingredients. It was clear from the arrangement that the test was going to be a cooking competition. After entering the hall, all the candidates gathered before the Head Chef of the palace, Wolfos Ruck, who was waiting for them at the extreme end of the hall. They were waiting for Wolfos to give them their instruction for the first test of the Staff Selection Competition. And after a few moments, Wolfos spoke to the eagerly waiting crowd. He said, "I don't need to tell you that the first test is a culinary test. For this test, you need to form a group of two. You have to work as a team, which means if your partner makes a mistake then you are in trouble as well. As you can see around, you have all the ingredients already present here. On the right extreme end, you can see the vegetables and fruits you need, on the left extreme end, you can see oil and dairy products, and at the center, you can see a pond, where you can find a different kind of fishes and other aquatic creatures. You can catch as much as aquatic creatures as you need, and for your help, we have provided some fishing equipment beside the pond. The only criteria in this test are that you have to prepare a dish where an aquatic creature will be the main ingredient. If you fail to prepare that, you have to go home. And the most important thing is that only 30 teams will go through this test, so…cook me the best dish you got. Everybody got it?"

"Yes Sir," The mob shouted.

"Now, let the test begin. Form your team by yourself, and select wherever you want to cook. There is enough cooking space for all the candidates that is until you work in a group of two," Wolfos informed and continued, "You have 3 hours to collect your ingredients and prepare your dish, and your time starts…now."

As soon as Wolfos began the timer, everybody started making their team. Maria didn't know what to do, but she was lucky that Jane asked her first to form a team. They quickly occupied a spot near the vegetable area. After that Maria and Jane went to get some fish, but the pond was already too much crowded, and all the fishing equipment had already been taken. They were amazed to see that the pond was deeper than it seemed, and many men were diving inside to catch fishes, crabs, shrimps, lobsters, etc.

Maria and Jane were shy to open their clothes and dive in the pond like other women present there, so they tried to catch fishes in the shallow water, but they were unsuccessful in doing so because all the fishes were diving into deep water due to the crowd. So, they had to wait to let the place be less crowded, and after some time, most of the teams had gone after getting their aquatic ingredients. Only 3 teams were left in the pond trying to catch something, and one of the teams was of Maria and Jane. One other team had a male member, so he dived in the pond and came out empty handed. Watching the man out of from his dive, Jane asked the man with a loud voice, "Is there anything left?"

"No, I think we are too late," The man replied with a frowned face.

That man swam out of the pond, dressed up and went out of the hall along with his lady team member with a gloomy face. Watching them go, one other team which constituted of 2 females, stood up and one of the girls sighed out of disappointment. "This was my third year, yet I messed up," She gritted her teeth.

"This was my sixth year. Last year I had a better chance when I cleared two of the three tests," The other girl said.

Both of them walked out of the hall with a disappointed face. Now it was Maria and Jane who were surrounded by despair. "It can't be happening, I have to get to the palace. How come Gabriella told me to take this route to get into the palace? I have to do something," Maria thought while beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.

Meanwhile, Jane was on her knees. She was looking at the ground and murmuring, "No, No, No. I cannot lose in the first test. Not like this."

Tears were falling from her eyes, she was unable to find a way out of that. She was constantly looking toward the pond, praying to God to help her, and surprisingly her prayers were answered. She saw some creatures crawling on the wall of the pond in a blurry vision. She stopped crying and wiped her tears to look carefully, and found out that some snails were crawling on the walls of the pond, in a small portion. "Snails," She said.

Maria had already lost hope, but when she heard Jane speak, and that also a weird word, she looked toward Jane and asked, "What?"

Jane looked at Maria and pointed toward the section of the pond where she saw the snails, and replied, "There are snails there."

Maria looked toward the direction and she was overjoyed to find the snails. "I am collecting the snails. You get the vegetables," Maria proposed.

Jane nodded her head and both of them rushed to do their respective jobs. On one side Maria gathered as much as large snails as possible, which were barely 2 dozen. And on the other side, Jane brought some vegetables which included garlic, shallot, and parsley. Besides those, she also brought some butter, white wine, and salt. When both of them arrived at their space, Jane asked, "Do you know how to separate the snails from their shell?"

Maria had a few experiences to cook snails, so after a brief pause, she replied, "Yes."

"Great. You prepare the snails and I am preparing the other ingredients," Jane ordered, and without receiving a reply, she began her work. Maria also began working onto separate the snails from their shell.

Jane was chopping and mincing all the vegetables. Gradually, she prepared a thick buttery sauce by mixing all the ingredients. After some time, Maria was done with her snail extraction and Jane was prepared with her buttery sauce. Jane then asked Maria to help her in the next phase of the dish, which was to put some sauce in the shell, then the snail and then a layer of sauce on it. It did not take much time to prepare all the two dozen snails. Soon after that, Jane put the tray containing those snails in the preheated oven. And then Jane and Maria took a sigh of relief, but still, Maria was clueless about what Jane was cooking. So, she asked, "It may sound pretty stupid at this point of time, but what are we making?"

"Escargots," Jane replied with a smile.

"Isn't that considered a poor man's dish?" Maria questioned.

"It still is. In fact, snails are considered gross by most people in Drachma," Jane answered.

When Maria heard the answer, she got nervous and thought, "WHAT? THEN WHY ARE WE COOKING SNAILS?"

In the meantime, one of the volunteers shouted, "5 minutes left."

And by that time, the snails were cooked in the oven. So, Jane pulled the tray out and garnished the snails with fresh parsley, and with that the bell rang, warning everyone to stop cooking.

Chef Ruck was sitting at his place to taste everyone's dish, and one by one every team was being called to present their dish to him. While Jane and Maria were going to the Chef's table, everyone in the surrounding was murmuring some demoralizing things. They were saying things like, "What? Snails? Who in their right mind would eat snails? They have prepared it in the shell itself, eww."

It took some time for the Head chef to taste all the dishes, and after he was finished off with tasting the dishes, it was informed that the results would be declared after an hour. And when the time came, a man came with a sheet having the list of teams who got selected for the next test. The list was made rank wise which meant it contained the list of best 30 teams from rank 1 (best team) to rank 30. That man glued the sheet on a wall, and once he left, everyone rushed toward to see the results. Maria and Jane also rushed to see the results, but it was too much crowded there, so they were unable to see anything. Once the people started leaving the place with a happy face or a sad face based on whatever result they received, Maria and Jane also looked in the sheet, but they were looking from the bottom and couldn't find their names. Jane got disappointed when she couldn't find her name, and she got out of the small crowd. Suddenly, Maria came from behind with a very happy face and hugged Jane. Jane couldn't understand what she was happy about. So, she enquired, "Why are you so happy?"

"We qualified for the next round," Maria hugged Jane more tightly.

"But, I didn't see our name and I searched properly," Jane said with a confused face.

So, Maria grabbed Jane's wrist. "Come with me," Maria pulled Jane.

When they reached near the sheet, Maria said, "Look at the top," and she pointed at the first row.

Jane saw and she was unable to believe what she was watching. Maria and she were in the number one spot. Watching that, Jane started crying out of happiness and she hugged Maria.


	64. Confrontation (Part 3 - The Cliff)

**[Wellesly – Western Area, Amestris]**

Lieutenant Colonel William J. Barns was assigned to investigate the mysterious death of Lieutenant Donovan. Based on all the clues and leads he found, he decided to come to Wellesly first, and he was standing exactly on the cliff where Donovan died. However, he was all alone there because he didn't like much company while working. It was afternoon, but due to clouds in the sky, partial sunlight was touching the region. He was standing at the edge of the cliff from where Donovan fell, and he was looking down at the spot where Donovan's body was found. While looking down, he thought, "So weird, why a military officer like Donovan would come all the way here, and jump off from the cliff. Why did he even consider taking his own life?"

And then suddenly, he heard some noises from the bushes behind. William quickly pulled out his gun and pointed in the direction of the noises. He saw something was coming out of the bushes. He thought it to be some wild animal, but it was a man in his forties with his trekking gear, and he was with two girls who were 11-12 years old. And as soon as William saw the girls, he put back his gun. In the meantime, the man saw William standing near the edge of the cliff. "Wow, there is already someone here," The man said while panting.

Then he walked past William, to the edge of the cliff and looked at the city along with the two girls. "I should have brought a map with me before going for trekking," He looked at William and smiled.

"You could have just come by car if you wanted to enjoy the view," William said.

"Then this view would have been less satisfying," The man responded.

"Do you come here very often?" William asked.

"You can say that," The man replied.

"Are you aware of the incident which took place here some days back?" William enquired with a little hesitation due to the presence of the girls.

The man turned around and looked at William. "Do you mean Lieutenant Donovan's death?" He questioned.

William was shocked at hearing the man's reply. He narrowed his eyes and put his hand on his gun. "How do you know his name? That hasn't been revealed to the press," He asked.

Now the two girls turned around with perfect sync, and they started staring at William with their big eyes without blinking. William got uncomfortable because of the way the girls were staring at her. So, he gulped and looked back at the man, and before he could say anything, the man informed, "I even know how he died, in fact, I can tell you with detail. Wait I can demonstrate you," and he grinned.

Now William was terrified and sweat started appearing on his forehead. His heartbeat rose instantly. He quickly pulled out his gun and pointed at the man even though there were two children standing beside the man. But in the meantime, both the girls turned around and jumped off from the cliff. Williams's eyes were widened. It was so unusual and it happened so fast that William had no time to even shout, "STOP." And when the girls jumped off the cliff, the man said, "That's how he died."

William's reflexes kicked in and he rushed toward the edge to look down the cliff. He saw the two girls stuck at a rock, few meters down the edge. They were still breathing, and their head was bleeding heavily. The man though didn't look down the cliff like William did. Meanwhile, William informed while he was panting heavily, "They are alive, we can still help them."

But the man replied calmly, "Hmmm, even I had the chance to help Donovan. But I didn't do that."

William gritted his teeth and looked at the man. "I am going to save them no matter what," He said.

Then he again looked back down the cliff, but he was shocked to find that the girls were no more at the spot where he saw them. "WHAT? Where are the girls?" He shouted.

And suddenly he heard some voices. "We are here, Lieutenant Colonel William J. Barns," The girls called simultaneously.

William slowly turned his head while his whole face was covered in sweat and he saw the two girls standing at a distance with a smile on their face, and most importantly they were not hurt. He couldn't understand what was happening. He was unable to comprehend whether it was real or he was having a bad dream. He turned around and pointed his gun at the man. "What is happening?" He asked.

"Let me show you something worse Lieutenant," The man replied.

And suddenly, William heard a cry which sounded very familiar. The cry was coming from the place where the girls were standing, but when he looked in that direction, instead of the girls, he saw his wife standing there and crying. "H...H…How?" William stuttered.

Meanwhile, his Wife called for him while she was sobbing, "Please save me, Will."

And then suddenly a man came from behind, from the bushes and placed a knife over her throat. William's eyes were widened. He said, "No", and before he could make a move, the man slit his wife's throat. And soon after that, she fell on the floor with her bleeding throat while the man disappeared behind the bushes. William rushed toward his wife and he was about to hold her, she disappeared into thin air. William was unable to understand what was happening. He looked around and only found a seven feet plus bulky man standing at the edge of the cliff. It was the same man who met Lieutenant Donovan at the cliff, before Donovan jumped off the cliff. He turned to look at the man properly and asked, "Who are you?"

"You can call me Big John, and I am the one who killed Donovan," The man answered and continued, "I appreciate your determination Colonel William, but you have involved yourself in something which will definitely kill you if you don't back down."

William was not afraid of Big John after witnessing far more horrific things just a few moments ago. He looked directly into Big John's eyes and replied, "I am not going to leave this case, just because a filthy street magician asked me to."

Because of William's fearlessness, a big grin appeared on Big John's face. He laughed and said, "Wonderful. Now I can get some real fun."

Things got more confusing for William. He enquired, "What are you talking about?"

John stopped laughing and answered, "As I already told you, I am the killer of Lieutenant Donovan. You just need to catch me and put me in jail. Isn't that fun?" And he smiled.

"Are you crazy?" William yelled.

But, John replied calmly, "Crazy is a rude word, you can say hmmm…quirky."

William pointed his gun toward John with a pissed off face and said, "Fuck you, I am not going to play this stupid game. You are going to die right here, right now."

He then shot 3 bullets one after another toward John, and all the bullets hit John. John started bleeding from the bullet holes in his chest. He fell on his knees and started groaning in pain, holding the area where he was hurt with his hands.

"You sick bastard, you really shot me?" John groaned in pain.

William walked near him, stood properly and looked down at the large man. "People like you are a danger to the society, it's necessary to put you down," William said.

But suddenly, John stopped groaning and started laughing loudly. He looked up at William. "I was just having some fun," He smiled.

He then moved his hands from his chest, and magically all the bullet wounds had disappeared. There was not even a stain of blood or torn cloth. Watching that, William shot two bullets at John's head, but John was not hurt at all. It seemed as if he was invincible. John stood up and looked down at William. "Let me give you a head start," he grinned and continued, "I have played this game of cop and convict lots of time with many detectives like you, and all of them either went to asylum or they died. And unfortunately you are the cop this time, so be careful."

Then John slowly walked past William, and while he was going, William replied while facing his back, "Don't worry, this time the cop will catch the convict. I will find you wherever you may be."

For which John said, "How can you find someone who doesn't even exist?" And with that John disappeared into thin air.


	65. Confrontation (Part 4 - Pebbles)

**[Cameron, East Area - Amestris]**

A day had passed since Oliver arrived at Cameron, and since then he was hanging out with the four children who helped him take Thomas Maxwell, the leader of IFF to hospital. Thomas was unconscious from the time when he was thrashed by the creature at the goods station of Central City when he tried to protect Oliver. And coincidentally, he and Oliver arrived at Cameron after they took the train to run away from the creature. But, Oliver was not aware that the small town was his birthplace, he only found out that he shared his name with a very old olive tree at the lake.

Oliver was playing with the other children near the lake, when they saw a person was sitting under the shed of the olive tree, facing toward the lake. It was the same person who killed the Ying-Yang twin's father and the same person who was once being surveilled by Roy in the early years. It was Krid Novak. The oldest among the children, Alvin stopped playing and said, "Hey Oliver. Do you want to see something?"

"What?" Oliver asked.

"Something amazing," Alvin smirked while facing toward Krid. Other children also stopped playing and looked toward Krid. Meanwhile, Krid was facing his back to the children and enjoying the carpet like grass under the shades of the olive tree. And the sound of the small waves of the lake hitting the ground with the scent of the olive tree was reminding him of one time when he was on a beach. But, suddenly a pebble flew just a little bit off from his shoulder and made a splash sound when it hit the water. Krid was still not taking any action against the pebble thrower. He was sitting quietly as he was already doing.

On the other side, Oliver was fidgeting when he saw Alvin throw a pebble at a person. "Stop it. You will hurt him," Oliver tried to stop Alvin but, Alvin picked another pebble from the ground, and none of his friends, except Oliver, were stopping him.

When Alvin threw the pebble, it was heading straight for Krid's head, and before it could hit Krid, Oliver covered his eyes with his palms and gritted his teeth with an open mouth. However, in a few moments, he heard a splash sound. He was not sure how the pebble could miss. So, he opened his eyes and saw Krid was sitting at the same spot quietly. Meanwhile, Alvin was picking more pebbles from the ground and this time Harvey, Reggie, and Isa were also picking pebbles from the ground. "What are you guys doing?" Oliver asked with widened eyes.

And then within a few seconds, Krid was bombarded with a volley of pebbles. Pebbles were being thrown toward Krid so that he couldn't dodge them. However, Krid dodged some of them and he blocked the remaining with a small branch of the olive tree he was holding.

When none of the pebbles hit Krid, Harvey shouted, "YOU ARE AWESOME MR. NOVAK."

Oliver was speechless to see the agility of Krid. "Wow, how can he do that?" Oliver questioned.

"I told you, I will show you something amazing," Alvin replied.

"Let's go, we will introduce you to him," Isa proposed and held Oliver's wrist. She then walked near Krid and greeted him by saying, "Hello Mr. Novak."

Krid was still facing the lake, but when he heard Isa's voice, he turned around. Now that Oliver was closer, he could see Krid's brown untidy beards and the clouded eyes. But, for a person who had retired from the military many years ago after achieving a lot, he was still looking as if he was in his thirties. "How many times have I told you that it is very bad to throw pebbles at people?" Krid scolded with a polite voice.

But, Oliver's eyes and mouth were wide open when he saw the clouded eyes of Krid. He shouted before any other children could answer Krid, "How come you can dodge so many pebbles thrown at you at the same time? When you are clearly a blind person."

"He can sense them. That's what he told us," Reggie interrupted.

"That's true," Krid smiled.

"Are you some warrior from Xing? Cause they can sense things," Oliver questioned.

"I am not a warrior from Xing, but I can still do that," Krid answered.

"He was in the military during the Ishvalan war though," Alvin added.

And then out of the blue Krid asked, "How is your mother, Oliver?"

That was the most unexpected question that Oliver could ever imagine. A stranger knew his name, and over that, he asked Oliver about his mother, when Oliver was himself desperate to find anything about his mother. And before he could reply, Alvin informed, "I forgot to mention that he can hear sounds from quite a distance. So, he might have heard your name when we were talking."

"That's true as well," Krid smiled.

Oliver didn't care how Krid found out his name. His mind was curious to find out how Krid knew his mother. So he enquired, "How do you know about my mother?"

Even Isa backed Oliver and asked, "Yes, how can you know his mother? He has been to this place for the first time. And as far as we know, you have never left this town from years."

"Oliver won't remember me, because the first time I met him, he was not even a year old," Krid replied and continued, "I used to encounter his mother every time I was returning back to my home from the lake. But, after few days I last met her personally, she disappeared from this town."

"How can you possibly know that? You can't even see, and I was just a baby when we met according to you," Oliver questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Sorry I should have told you," Alvin fixed his glasses and said, "He can identify people just by their smell."

"WHAT!" Oliver exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Harvey, Isa and Reggie said, "That's true as well."

Krid smiled when he heard the children stealing his line. And in the meantime, Oliver stuttered, "That doesn't make any sense unless you are a chimera, but I have read lots of books and in none of them is there any case of stable human chimera."

"Well, everything is not given in the books Oliver. After all, the books you read are all written by the government, and they don't want you to know everything," Krid responded.

Oliver looked at Krid for a few moments without speaking a word, and then he gulped. Then Krid again asked, "So, how is your mother?"

Oliver averted his eyes from Krid and looked at the ground to hide his sadness from other children. "Well, I don't know anything about my mother or you can say I don't remember her. My father told me, she left us," He replied.

When Krid learned that his mother left him, he instantly said, "Why would she do that? All the time, I passed by your mother's flower shop, she seemed very happy with you."

That was the first time Oliver heard something about her mother which seemed to be true. And after hearing Krid's explanation, a big genuine smile appeared on his face. "My mother sold flowers?" He asked with the smile still intact on his face.

"Yes, in fact, she was very good at that. I remember the time when I bought a bouquet of gardenias, and you started crying when she was talking to me," Krid replied.

Those happy moments that Oliver couldn't remember were still able to bring happiness on his face. "Mr. Novak," he called.

"Yes, Oliver?" Krid responded.

"Do you remember her name?" Oliver questioned.

"It was Elizabeth," Krid answered.

"Elizabeth, my mother's name is Elizabeth," Oliver kept on thinking and smiling after learning something about his mother. He always pictured his mother in his mind on how she would be looking, and the answers from Krid helped to complete that picture a bit. Now his mother was surrounded by beautiful flowers in his mental portrait.


	66. Confrontation (Part 5 - Dining Hall)

**[Central Command, Amestris]**

Riza was sitting outside the conference room where the meeting between the representatives of Amestris and Xing was taking place. Representatives of Amestris included all the five Generals and the Fuehrer, but the General of West Area, General Volkmar and General Armstrong were absent due to some reasons. On the other side, Ling and his political advisor, Hu Zemin represented Xing.

After some time the meeting ended and one by one the leaders of both the countries came out. Riza and some other soldiers who were waiting outside the conference room, stood up to honor the guests and their higher-ups. And Riza didn't have to wait long because Roy was the second person to come through the door. It was not difficult for him to find Riza because she was standing right before the door. But, when he was about to go to Riza, he heard someone say, "General Mustang," from behind.

He turned around and found Ling was the person who called him. He looked at Ling and responded, "Yes Prince Ling?"

"Sorry to hear about your loss. I came to know about it just now when Hu told me," Ling replied.

"Thank you, prince," Roy said.

Roy didn't want to create a fuss by spreading the news that Oliver was alive, so it was only Riza, Colonel Armstrong and he who knew the truth, and everyone else was still shrouded by the false information. Meanwhile, Ling continued with a heavy voice, "I can't believe that he is dead. I met him only a few weeks back. He was taking some lessons of alkahestry from Mei."

"I know, he told me about it," Roy smirked faintly.

"How about you take us somewhere where we can talk like friends?" Ling proposed.

Roy narrowed his eyes and replied, "You sound totally different from the person I used to know."

"Diplomacy my friend," Ling sighed and continued, "I had to take some lessons back at my country."

Roy smiled and said, "Fine. I will arrange a private meeting at Central Park tomorrow evening. Is it good enough?"

"Great," Ling replied and continued, "Now if you will excuse me, I need to go for the lunch. I am really hungry after that exhausting meeting," and he smiled.

Then he left for the dining hall along with Hu Zemin, and Roy walked toward Riza, who was waiting for him. Both of them then together moved toward Roy's office. While walking, Roy enquired, "Any update?"

"Search operation has been started at East city, and for the smaller regions, the operation will take 4-5 days to start. Soldiers have been informed to report to central command if they find any one of them, and they have been strictly ordered, not to indulge in any kind of conflict or even a simple conversation with the target. Oli's identity has also been kept a secret from the soldiers in order to avoid any uncertainty," Riza informed.

"Hmmm, it's faster than what I expected," Roy said. Meanwhile, Riza called Roy before he could ask her anything else by saying, "General," with a lowered voice.

"Yes?" Roy responded very casually.

"One of the smaller regions include my hometown. Do you think…Oli might be there?" Riza asked.

Roy stopped walking, soon after which Riza stopped. He then looked at Riza and replied politely, "He can be anywhere, but the only way to increase our chances to find him is to search the bigger areas first."

In the meantime, Ling and Hu Zemin had reached the dining hall which was an inside-outside hall, whose one part was part building with costly marbles and glasses, while the other part was a garden with beautifully maintained trees and plants. At the gate of the dining hall, Ling saw many higher-ups in the military, were waiting to meet him. And beyond the crowd waiting for him, he saw Lan Fan, Mei, Yin and even Xiao-Mei were enjoying the delicious looking food. He couldn't resist it anymore and whispered to Hu, "Take care of the mob. I don't have any patience to talk to them."

Listening to Ling's request, Hu walked forward and prevented the crowd from disturbing Ling. He used his usual fake smile and took them with him. Ling could now freely eat the Amestrian dishes, whose presentation was mesmerizing. He fit many dishes on a single plate and walked to Mei and Yin. He looked around to search for one more person, but he couldn't find him. So, he asked while his mouth was full, "Where is Yang?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him from an hour," Yin answered.

Ling then continued having his food while looking at the flowers blossomed on some plants. And suddenly, Alex, aka Colonel Armstrong came flying from one side of the garden and fell at the center. Everyone who was enjoying the food were distracted by the incident. They were not only surprised because someone hit an Amestrian soldier in Central Command, but also because the soldier was the Strong Arm Alchemist. Quickly, many soldiers gathered near Alex, and within a few moments, all the Xingese present at the dining hall and the Fuehrer went to find out the reason.

Upon reaching there, they saw Yang was standing at a distance with his covered sword in his hand. In a few moments, both Yang and Alex stood before Ling and the Fuehrer to explain. "Please forgive me for my irresponsible behavior. When I was coming out of the toilet, I suddenly saw this huge man right in front of me. And the next second, he was leaping on me. So, I acted on my instinct and pushed him," Yang said.

After listening to Yang's explanation, Fuehrer Grumman's eyes were widened. "You pushed him!" He exclaimed.

"It was definitely my mistake, Sir. I shouldn't have startled him. It was a bad time to welcome our guest with a hug," Alex sounded embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Grumman was more focused on the murmuring going on in the crowd. Many soldiers were talking about how strong Yang was, because he was able to push Alex so hard that he flew and fell on the garden. Grumman didn't want to show that the Amestrian military was weaker than the Xingese. He believed in Alex, because he was among the top state alchemists, and he was sure that Alex was definitely not ready when Yang attacked. So, to boost the morale of the soldiers, he said, "Why don't we have alchemy vs alkahestry exhibition fight to show the combat abilities of both of our countries?"

Everyone looked at the Fuehrer with widened eyes, while Ling spoke with an excited tone, "That sounds great."

"Alright then Mr. Yang Gong and Colonel Alex Armstrong. After one hour you will showcase your combat abilities at the combat training ground," Grumman declared.

"Hmmm," Yang nodded and Alex replied with a "Yes Sir."

Meanwhile, both Ling and Grumman were having an evil laugh from inside. "Yang will decimate your weak state alchemist, Grumman," Ling thought as he smiled while looking at Grumman.

"Now you will see the true strength of our country," Grumman thought as he smiled while looking at Ling.


	67. Confrontation (Part 6 - Combat Ground)

Everyone in the Central Command was gathered at the combat training ground to see the exhibition fight between the Strong Arm Alchemist, Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong and the fourth Zhansi of Xing, Yang Gong. Fuehrer Grumman was sitting inside a shed along with Ling on special chairs, and all the 3 Generals present there were sitting beside him. On one side of the ground, Colonel Armstrong was preparing for the fight by wearing his gauntlets. And on the other side, the fourth Zhansi, Yang was adjusting his scabbard with the sword inside it. Alex had transmutation circle on his gauntlet to perform alchemy, and Yang had transmutation circle on the sword's handle to perform alkahestry.

To support Yang, all the Xingese except Ling were standing on Yang's side, cheering for him. Ling was also cheering for Yang even though he was sitting among the most powerful figures of Amestris. On the other side, Alex had the advantage of the home ground. He was being cheered by the whole crowd present there.

After a few minutes, both the fighters walked toward each other to the center of the ground and maintained some gap between them. Both the fighters were looking toward each other. And in the meantime, Alex said, "Sorry for what happened earlier."

"The mistake was mine as well. I shouldn't have pushed you so hard, Colonel Armstrong," Yang responded.

"Mr. Gong, pardon me for asking this, but do you have any title? I heard you have the same status as a state alchemist in your country," Alex asked.

"We don't have any titles. We just have ranks among the 12 Zhansi," Yang replied.

"And you are fourth if I am not wrong?" Alex questioned.

Yang answered with a, "Yes."

"Then I don't need to hold back," Alex smiled.

And in the meantime, Grumman spoke on the mic to begin the fight. With that, Alex stripped off his shirt, because of which every Xingese's eyes were widened. "WHAT IS HE DOING?" Yin shouted from the audience.

Yang was also confused. He looked at Alex and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I am going to show you the strength that has passed down the Armstrong family line for generations. Now get ready to taste it," Alex replied and rushed toward Yang. He started raining punches on Yang. Witnessing such an intense beginning of the fight, the crowd started cheering for Alex. And because of the sudden move, Yang didn't get time to process what was happening and started dodging those attacks.

Yang had to struggle to dodge Alex's attacks. While dodging, he thought, "He is very fast for a man of his size."

When Alex's punch slowed for a brief moment, Yang got an opening and quickly slid under the legs of Alex, and poked the back of the knee with his scabbard. That move made Alex fall on one of his knees, and as soon as Alex fell on his knee, he punched the ground which made a protrusion from the ground between Yang and him, due to which Yang had to back down. Alex then turned around and looked at Yang who was surprised. Alex then punched the protrusion made by him, and some projectiles having the shape of Alex's face started flying toward Yang. Watching those projectiles coming toward him, Yang used his scabbard to defend himself. And as soon as he was finished off with the projectiles, he saw Alex was right in front of him. Alex was landing a punch with his spiky gauntlet, without leaving any chance for Yang to defend himself. But somehow, Yang used his scabbard to block the attack, however, the force from Alex's punch threw him to a little distance. Yin couldn't believe that her brother was being dominated by a state alchemist. She exclaimed, "A mere state alchemist cannot defeat my brother!"

Meanwhile, Alex maintained some distance from Yang and didn't attack him after giving him such a hard time for a while. He teased by asking, "Am I a tough opponent for you?"

Yang stood up properly and smiled. He then pointed his scabbard that contained his sword toward Alex and said, "Looks like I also need to use some of my alkahestry."

Alex ran toward him and again started raining punches. This time Yang quickly dodged all the attacks and made some distance between Alex and him. He then threw a kunai knife toward Alex, but it missed. Watching that, Alex responded, "If you are trying to hit me with those knives, you have to try a little hard."

Soon after that, Alex then created many pillars using alchemy which made Yang's movement difficult. Alex then punched some of the pillars to throw projectiles at Yang, and while Yang was busy in blocking and dodging the projectiles, Alex created a semicircular wall behind Yang to trap him, and he was successful in that. Now that Yang was trapped, Alex rushed toward him to land a punch, but before that, Yang threw a kunai knife between him and Alex and quickly stuck his scabbard on the ground. With that, a wall protruded between him and Alex.

However, the wall couldn't stop Alex. He punched the wall and created some projectiles flying toward Yang's direction, but when he demolished the wall, he saw Yang was not present in that direction, and all the projectiles hit the wall that he made to trap Yang. Suddenly, Yang threw two more kunai knives in a different direction, away from Alex.

Fuehrer Grumman, who was sitting, and enjoying the fight, couldn't understand what was that Yang was trying to do with the kunai knives. "Why is he throwing knives on the ground and not at Colonel Armstrong?" He asked.

Roy who was sitting beside him, replied, "I think he is going to use alkahestry."

And Ling added after Roy finished by saying, "Yes, in fact, you are about to see a spectacular display of alkahestry right now."

In the meantime, Alex and Yang were fighting at close range. Yang couldn't afford a single punch from Alex, because that would end the fight then and there. He was avoiding all the attacks by dodging and maintaining distance, instead of just blocking them. He then threw one more kunai knife in some other direction. Watching that Alex understood what Yang was trying to do. "I guess, you are going to use some big alkahestry attack."

Yang smiled and replied, "Your guess is absolutely correct."

Yang then stuck the pointy end of his scabbard on the ground, and sparks started appearing on the scabbard as well as on all the kunai knives placed by Yang at different locations. Now, Alex could see that he was at the wrong location where he was standing. All the kunai knives were placed at a certain location to form the necessary points of a transmutation circle which Yang had drawn while moving in the fight. Yang was channeling the energy of his alkahestry to the location where Alex was standing. Now that Alex had realized it, he tried to run and get out of the circle, but he was too late to do so. Suddenly, lots of hands made of the earth came out of the ground within that circle, and they were moving a bit flexibly than the rigid hands which Alphonse constructed using alchemy. Yang was also able to lengthen and shorten the length of those hands from a distance.

Now many earthen hands were about to attack Alex. Alex was able to defend himself, but he was using mostly his strength at that time to destroy the hands because everything was happening so fast that he was unable to think of something else. And every time he was destroying the hands, the hands were being recreated in an instant. Everyone in the crowd was amazed to see the view, initially, they were rooting for their local hero because he was dominating, but now the tides had changed. Alex was struggling to defend himself. While he was destroying the hands, a big earth hand appeared from right below him and threw him in the air to a few feet. Alex was now in midair, and getting that opportunity, Yang jumped and kicked Alex on his belly.

Because of everything happened at that moment, there was dust everywhere, and after a few moments everyone heard something big fell on the ground. Everyone, even Yang was under the impression that it was Alex who fell on the ground, and they were not entirely incorrect about that. Soon when the dust cleared, Alex was standing like a mountain as if nothing happened to him. He was standing in attacking stance, smiling at Yang, and Yang along with all the Xingese were surprised. "How can you be unaffected by that attack?" Yang asked.

"Well, it's because of my strength and endurance, that has been passed down the Armstrong family line for generations," Alex replied with a starry smile.

Both of them were again ready to fight, but before they could start it, Grumman interrupted, "That's enough. Colonel Armstrong, the fourth Zhansi – Yang… it was a spectacular fight which you two showed out here." He clapped to appreciate them, and the whole crowd clapped and cheered to praise their performance. Alex thanked the crowd and Fuehrer. After that, he walked closer to Yang and shook hands.

While shaking hands, Yang said, "So, it's true what they say about state alchemists after all."

"I also wonder what you can do with your sword," Alex stopped shaking hands.

"If I had taken out my sword, then it would have been a bloody fight," Yang said while keeping his scabbard back on his waist.

"Thank you for not doing that," Alex continued, "and for everything else…," He hugged Yang with a surprise and said, "This is the love of the great Armstrong family."

He was hugging Yang too tightly, pressing him against his bare sweaty chest. Yang was annoyed because of that, but he was unable to get out of Alex's big arms. Moreover, the crowd was laughing looking at the scene which made Yang yell, "LEAVE ME."


	68. Desperation (Part 1 - Hall G)

**[Othon – Drachma]**

After the first test for the staff selection competition, the day for the second test arrived. Even though the sun was absent from the sky of Othon, the candidates had adapted themselves accordingly. They had been called to the Central Field of the palace like the previous test, and all the qualified candidates from the first round were eagerly waiting there to receive further instructions.

In a short period of time, Maria and Jane had become good friends after delivering their best at the cooking competition. They were standing beside each other, and Maria was trying to act as if she was a Drachmann herself. Her act was convincing, but she didn't have the historical knowledge about the country like Jane. So, she took leverage of her friendship and tried to learn about the country from Jane, whenever she had the chance.

While they were waiting like the other candidates there, Maria looked at Jane and asked, "Jane, why are you so determined to become a staff here?"

Jane smirked and replied while looking ahead, "I don't want to become just a staff here. One day I want to become the Head of Staff…My grandfather was once the Head of Staff here, and he felt proud to serve in this palace. He used to tell us the stories of our first King, Ivanov the first. Centuries ago, Drachma was just a small country, out of which Amestris took some part in the first battle between Drachma and Amestris, and they built a wall to separate both the countries. After some years of the war, Ivanov the first appeared and united other small neighboring countries either by defeating tyrant rulers, or by making friends of them. For decades, he kept on doing that in order to save the other poor countries, by sharing the wealth from rich countries. Soon, the small Drachma became very huge, in fact now it is the largest country in the world. Eventually, all the remaining kings voted him to be the sole king of Drachma, because he was the one who united all of them. My grandfather felt pride in working at the palace, where once Ivanov the first lived, and I also want to do the same by serving the place where the greatest king ever lived."

Maria looked ahead and said with a low voice, "Ivanov, the first…what a legacy he left behind."

In the meantime, a man came to the field with a loudspeaker and informed everyone to reach Hall G in an hour for the next test. And as soon as he left, all the candidates present there moved toward Hall G. Everyone reached Hall G in just 15 minutes, but the Hall was closed as expected. After sometime when the hall opened, everyone entered inside.

There they saw the hall was filled with different kind of flowers, and the floor was regular soil and mud where one could easily find weeds grown. After a few minutes, the Head of Staff, Yegor Netto walked into Hall G and stood on the platform created for him. He took a mic and said, "Congratulations to all of you who made it to here, but unfortunately for some of you, the journey will end here. Only 30 candidates will advance to the final test, however, that doesn't mean the remaining 30 who won't advance are not good. It means that you still have room to improve your skills and amaze us next year," he smiled and halted for a moment after which he continued, "Now, for the test. As you can see there are lots of flowers in this room, and each flower, as well as each color, has some significance. In this test, all you have to do is to create a bouquet using at maximum 6 things in this room. If any bouquet exceeds 6 things, the person will be disqualified. And you have 1 hour to create your best bouquet, which means you cannot take flowers from the stalls after one hour. The bouquet which will have the best combinations and significance will win this test. Every one of you will be given a chance to explain why you designed a bouquet in the way you designed it, and what does your bouquet signify. Remember, the most basic requirement of a bouquet is, it should look good. Also, if you try to mess up the flowers for other candidates, you will be disqualified. Is everyone clear?"

"Yes Sir," the candidates shouted.

"If everyone understood everything, then let the test begin," Yegor smiled.

When the test began, every candidate in the hall started moving toward the flowers, while Jane was standing at her position. She was murmuring, "Only 6 things to make the bouquet! Why didn't he say 6 flowers?"

Maria was standing just beside her, so she heard her and said, "Maybe we can create a bouquet without even using any flower, or even the thing with which-"

"We are going to tie the flowers are even counted among those 6 things," Jane interrupted by finishing off Maria's sentence.

Both of them looked excitedly toward each other. "Let's make a damn good flower bouquet, Maria," Jane smiled with excitement in her eyes.

And Maria responded with the same kind of emotion. "Let's do it," She said.

"Don't you dare lose here," Jane grinned.

"It will never happen," Maria smirked.


	69. Desperation (Part 2 - Carrot Weed)

The second test for staff selection had begun. And because the test was going to be evaluated individually, Maria and Jane couldn't surprise the judge with their teamwork like the last time. Each of them was making their bouquet separately, in fact, everyone in that hall was busy designing their own bouquet with full dedication.

Jane went to a flower stall and picked up a yellow flower and a maroon flower with a thorny stem. Then she went to another stall and picked up a blue flower with little leaves on its stem, and a red striped yellow flower with a thick stem. She then used a blue ribbon to tie all the flowers together. On the other side, Maria didn't know about the history of Drachma in detail as Jane did. So, she decided to make a bouquet with a very generic meaning. She went to a flower stall and picked up 5 tulips of different colors i.e. pink, red, yellow, white and blue. Then she tied all the flowers with a white ribbon. She was prepared with her bouquet, so she went to Jane to have a look at Jane's bouquet. She found out that Jane was still trying to figure out something. Jane was so occupied with her thought process that she didn't notice Maria standing near her. So, to get Jane's attention, Maria asked, "What are you so worried about?" And she continued while looking at Jane's bouquet, "Your bouquet looks really good."

Jane looked at Maria and replied, "I don't know, I feel like I am missing something." She then saw a bouquet in Maria's hand and said, "Anyways tell me about your bouquet."

Maria smiled with a little hesitation and answered, "It won't be as good as yours. But now that you have asked, I don't have an option, but to tell you…As you can see all the tulips are different looking in a lot of ways, but they are all tulips at the end, and the white ribbon represents unity because we all know that white is the mixture of all colors. Similarly, this bouquet represents diversity as well as similarity at the same time."

"That's quite nice," Jane commented.

"What about your bouquet?" Maria asked.

"Well, I selected four flowers which grow only in certain specific parts of Drachma. So, my flowers represent east, west, north and south area of Drachma, and the blue ribbon represents unity which was achieved by Ivanov the first," Jane replied.

"Amazing, as expected of you," Maria praised with a smile.

Upon receiving genuine praise, Jane blushed and said with a smirk, "Stop your flattery, Maria."

And with that, the time window for the bouquet making test closed. Maria and Jane were happy that they prepared their best bouquet, but the rest was up to the Head of Staff. After a few minutes, evaluation started where every candidate was going with their bouquet to the Head of Staff and explaining it to him.

After a few candidates, Jane was called for evaluation. And while Jane was going for evaluation, she was still worried that her bouquet was still missing something, and she was unable to figure out that. But, on the way, she saw a small weed flower with white petals and yellow center had grown just below one of the flower stalls. And just after watching the flower, a smile appeared on her face. She went and plucked that weed flower from the ground. She put the weed flower at the center of her bouquet, in between the other flowers and walked toward the judge with confidence.

She presented the bouquet to Yegor Netto, the Head of Staff. Yegor took the bouquet and looked at Jane. "So, Jane is it?" Yegor questioned.

"Yes Sir," Jane answered with a nervous smile.

Yegor then looked at her bouquet and said, "So, the yellowish daisy represents hope, bluish morning glory represents love, tiger lily represents purity, the maroon tulip represents passion, and a carrot weed flower? That's pretty unique…Hmm, so….your bouquet says, if we unite and share our knowledge with others, we can even help rise the weak. Am I close?"

"No Sir," Jane said hesitantly and then continued with a burst, "but it was a great deduction."

"I knew it," Yegor shouted mildly and then continued after a small pause, "So, what does your bouquet says?"

"All the different flowers in the bouquet grows only in certain states of Drachma. The Yellowish daisy grows in the west, the maroon tulip grows in the north, the bluish morning glory grows in the south and the tiger lily grows in the east. So, all the different colored flowers in my bouquet represent different regions of Drachma," Jane then stopped speaking when she saw Yegor's smile. She got a bit nervous.

So, Yegor said, "Please continue."

Jane took a deep breath and continued, "Regarding the carrot weed flower...It holds a story of its own. When Ivanov the first came to Othon for the first time, it was a very poor village devastated by a recent war. In the village, he encountered a small girl, trying to eat a rotten piece of bread. And within a few moments, he pulled out a fresh loaf of bread from his luggage and offered it to the girl. But, the girl didn't take it instantly. She pulled out a carrot weed flower from the ground and thanked him by giving it to our King before taking the loaf of bread. When our King asked her why she did that, she replied that her parents had taught her to thank anyone who helps. Our King was so moved by the action of that girl that he decided to stay there and turn the village into a paradise, like it was before the war. He started repairing houses for the people, provided them the resources to hunt, cultivate and travel to nearby villages. He made it a primary location of the places he conquered. Finally, when the unfortunate day came, and our King passed away, everyone in Othon offered carrot weed flower on his grave and thanked him for what he did for them. Until this day, we offer carrot weed flowers on his grave to thank him, because this flower is considered a ray of hope, which our King was. So, the carrot weed flower in my bouquet represents our first king, and the hope of whole Drachma, Ivanov the first. And the blue ribbon represents the unity that our king achieved by uniting different countries to make them a single country which is now called Drachma."

After listening to Jane, Yegor took a deep breath and sighed. "You truly know our history, and after understanding the meaning of your bouquet. I think it is one of the best bouquets I have seen till now," Yegor smiled.

"Thank you Sir," Jane smiled back.

She was so happy after receiving the comment that she wanted to shout out of happiness, but she controlled her emotions at that moment.

Soon Maria's turn also came. Maria was nervous about the bouquet she created, she was walking toward the judge when she noticed that one of the petals of the red tulip had fallen. So, she touched the center of the flower, and as soon as she touched it, the remaining petals of the red tulip fell on the ground. Watching that, Maria panicked, she couldn't understand what she should do. When she was unable to find a solution she tucked the withered red tulip below the other tulips, making it look like the stem was used to tie other flowers together. She was able to solve the look of the bouquet, and she was lucky that the meaning she created for the bouquet did not change even after one flower withered. She walked toward Yegor with a bit of nervousness on her face.

When Maria stood in front of Yegor, Yegor smiled and said, "So, we meet again Maria…you cleared the first test, and that even by becoming the topper. It was the right decision to give you the opportunity to appear for the test after all."

"Thank you, sir," Maria responded with a smile and gave him her bouquet.

"Now, let us see whether you are worthy enough to get to the next test or not," Yegor looked at the bouquet for some moment and continued, "Hmm…all tulips? The bouquet looks good with a good combination of color even though the flowers are the same…good work. Now let me interpret your bouquet. Stop me if I stop making sense," he smiled looking at Maria, and Maria just chuckled.

Yegor then said, "Hmm…so there are four different kinds of tulips, maybe they represent five different brothers, the pink one represents a happy person who enjoys every moment of his life, yellow represents the person who is a thinker, who takes each step in life very carefully. Blue is mysterious like the depth of the sea, this person doesn't share their intentions…now white represents the honorable of them all. But, then I saw a withered flower holding all the flowers together, I guess, that is the mother who sacrifices herself to hold her family together. Am I interpreting it correct till now Maria?"

Maria was amazed that the Head of staff interpreted her bouquet very differently. She felt that the current interpretation was better than her interpretation of the bouquet. So, she thought it would be a good idea to go with Yegor's interpretation. "That's very much accurate sir," She replied with widened eyes to look more convincing.

"WHAT! I interpreted it correctly? Looks like I have improved after interpreting so many bouquets," He smirked and continued, "Well, I was unable to figure out the significance of the white ribbon. Can you please explain this?"

Maria was trapped now, she thought going along with Yegor was the right decision, but now that Yegor asked a question whose base was created by himself, Maria was trying to figure out an answer which would align with his interpretation. And fortunately, she quickly came up with a decent answer. She answered, "The white ribbon represents the father, and he is also trying to hold his family by helping the mother. As you can see the mother is a tulip, but she is a different kind of tulip, while the father is white which contains all the colors, part of which his children inherited."

"Nice," Yegor responded.

Yegor seemed like he was impressed by her answer, and with that Maria's evaluation ended. After some time, the evaluation process finished and the candidates were waiting for the results. Many candidates were very sad because they were disqualified for using more than 6 things in their bouquet. They were still hopeful that they would be given one more chance because of the huge number of disqualifications.

Soon the result came, but this time there were two lists, one with the candidates who qualified for the next test and other with the list of candidates who did not qualify, and the reason behind their rejection. Maria and Jane first saw the rejection list and found out that 25 out of the 30 rejected candidates were disqualified due to the use of more than 6 things in the bouquet. They felt relaxed that their name was not on that list, which meant they qualified for the next test. Then they had a look into the other list of qualified candidates, and again Jane was the number one on the list. Maria was also expecting to be in the upper half of the list, but she wasn't there. She looked down and down the list, still, she couldn't find her name. Then she saw number thirty, and there she was. She was embarrassed.

She looked at the happy face of Jane and said with an embarrassed face, "Looks like I qualified only due to heavy disqualifications."

"Doesn't matter, you are still going to the next test. Let's celebrate," Jane smiled.


	70. Desperation (Part 3 - Red Lake)

**[Cameron – East Area]**

After remaining unconscious for two days, Thomas Maxwell, the Chief of IFF was finally awake. He was standing outside the hospital and talking with a nurse in his regular clothes. And in the meantime, he saw Oliver was coming toward him along with his newly made friends but, there was something wrong. He was fully calm and he didn't faze to find Oliver right in front of him after their encounter with the creature at the goods station at Central City. Even when Oliver stood right before him, he didn't respond. So, Oliver asked, "How are you feeling Mr. Maxwell?"

Thomas confusingly looked at Oliver and replied with a forced smile, "Sorry kid, you might know me but I don't recognize you."

All the children's eyes were widened. They looked toward the nurse for an explanation, which the nurse clearly understood. She sighed and then said, "I also found about it when he woke up. The Doctor said that due to heavy damage to his head, he has lost his memories."

"WHAT!" All the kids shouted at once.

"STOP SHOUTING," The nurse scolded and continued after calming down, "He had a severe head injury when he came here. Mr. Maxwell is lucky that he only suffered a memory loss. This could have been worse."

"Sorry Nurse," The children apologized.

The nurse took a deep breath and said with a smile, "You don't need to apologize. You all have done a great job by bringing this man here when he was in need of dire help. You all are heroes."

All the children blushed except Oliver. Meanwhile, Thomas said, "Yes, thank you very much for saving my life. I can't possibly imagine how I can ever repay you?"

Hearing that, Alvin boasted while fixing his glasses, "Oh please, it was our duty as a human being."

Then Oliver asked, "Mr. Maxwell, don't you even remember me?"

"I am unable to remember anything. I only know that my name is Thomas Maxwell and I am an Ishvalan just because the nurse told me," Thomas replied.

Meanwhile, someone called from inside for the nurse. So, the nurse said, "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go."

"Sure nurse, and thank you for everything," Thomas bowed a bit to show his gratitude.

The nurse smiled and went inside the hospital. And after she was gone, Thomas looked at Oliver and asked, "Oliver, can you please tell me how you know me? It might help me remember something."

Oliver thought for a moment. He remembered all the teaching that he learned at the orphanage. So, he decided not to speak the bad thing that Thomas was involved in which no one present there was aware of, instead, he thought of speaking only the good things. He replied, "Well, you were trying to protect me from a monster when you got hurt, then your friends helped me and you to get on a train which led us to this town."

Thomas laughed out loudly. "A monster!" He exclaimed.

Even, all the other four kids slapped there hand on their forehead out of disbelief. "Stupid," They said in a low voice.

"I think Oliver has also lost his memory about the incident," Alvin joked.

Oliver looked at the children and narrowed his eyes. "I am speaking the truth. Why none of you are believing me?" He said desperately.

"Because monsters are not real," Harvey answered boldly.

Oliver instantly got angry and ran away from there. Watching that, Isa ran behind Oliver by shouting, "Oliver stop."

"You shouldn't treat your friends like that, you know," Thomas advised.

"Because I am his friend, I am teaching him to identify what is real, and what is not," Harvey responded.

Thomas sighed and placed his hands on Harvey's shoulder. "Let's go, and try to convince him…in a more polite way," Thomas grinned.

Harvey looked at Thomas' big grin and said, "Alright."

Harvey, Reggie, Alvin, and Thomas then went to meet Oliver. Meanwhile, Oliver and Isa had reached the lake, where they saw Krid was sitting under the Olive tree as usual. "Hey Mr. Novak," Isa shouted from a distance.

Krid was still looking toward the lake while he replied with a question, "How are you, Isa?"

"Great," Isa answered energetically.

"What about you Oliver? Did you find anything more about your mother?" Krid asked.

Oliver came and sat beside Krid and looked ahead at the lake like Krid. "I asked the nurse, but she told me that it would take time to find the records and search her. She told me to come next week," Oliver replied.

"That's a great start," Krid said.

Meanwhile, Isa sat beside Oliver, and for a brief moment, no one spoke. Then suddenly, Oliver questioned, "Mr. Novak, are monsters real?"

"Hmm, well if you consider people like me monster, then yes they do exist," Krid answered.

Oliver desperately looked at Krid and said, "I am not asking about chimeras. I meant to say real monsters."

"Let me tell you a story, a real story," Krid proposed and then shouted, "AND YOU CAN ALSO SIT WITH US."

Krid had felt the presence of Harvey, Reggie, Alvin, and Thomas at a distance, so he called them to sit with others. Everyone went near Krid and sat there. Because Krid had felt a new presence, which was of Thomas, he asked, "Who is the other person?"

"This is Mr. Thomas Maxwell. Remember the person we told you about whom we saved?" Harvey reminded.

"Yes," Krid replied.

"Well, this is him, and he has lost his memory," Harvey informed.

"That's very unfortunate. Well, now that we can't do anything about that, why don't you enjoy the story I am about to tell," Krid said.

Thomas smiled and responded, "I guess I have to adhere to your advice Mr.…?"

"It's only Krid for you," Krid answered.

In the meantime, Thomas had noticed the clouded eyes of Krid, but he didn't ask him anything and joined the other children to listen to the story which Krid was going to tell. "Okay. So, let me ask you some questions before telling you the story. Do any of you know why Cameron has so less population?" Krid asked.

Nobody replied for some time. So, Krid said, "I take it as no then. Now, do any of you know about the war which was fought in Cameron?"

"I have heard that a civil war broke out in this town more than 200 years ago, but that's all I know," Alvin replied.

Krid responded, "You are correct," and continued, "But it was not just a normal war, it is considered as the bloodiest war in the history of Amestris. No other war comes anywhere close to it… Long ago, Cameron was one of the major cities of the then Amestris which was still busy expanding its territory by capturing the neighboring countries. This place was inhabited by some new Amestrian settlers and the locals of Cameron after Cameron became a part of Amestris. Everything was going well, until one day an Amestrian man fell in love with a local Cameron woman. They both were young and wanted to marry each other, and everyone in Cameron was happy for them even though the new settlers and locals had differences. Everyone in the city contributed to the wedding, but when the wedding day came, the man disappeared. The locals started blaming the new settlers saying that all the Amestrians are cheats just like the man who promised the woman to marry her. In return, the Amestrians blamed the locals by saying that they were the ones who disappeared the man, they even said that the locals killed the man because they were never in support of the marriage. The feud got out of control when accidentally a local killed one of the Amestrians who happened to be a noble. Because of this, the Amestrian government sent military troops to Cameron and punished a few innocent people because no one knew the real culprit. This thing enraged the local people, and they killed some soldiers, due to which the government punished some more locals. This cycle of revenge, took the shape of a war, a very ugly war in all human history. The lake which you see in front of us was red because of the amount of blood flowed into it during the war. The place where we are sitting right now was piled up with dead bodies, and all this started just because of some misunderstandings and lack of information."

"So this is where the red lake war happened?" Alvin asked with widened eyes.

"Yes. And did you understand who the monsters here were?" Krid questioned.

"The Amestrian soldiers?" Harvey answered instantly.

"No," Krid confirmed.

"But, they were the ones who killed the innocents," Harvey said.

"The real monsters here were anger, hate, revenge, and all the negative things that are inside us. The war could have never happened if they had worked together to find out the real reason why the man disappeared, instead of blaming each other. The mistake was from both the sides, and neither of the sides admitted the mistake was theirs, which led to the disastrous war. And because of the ugly war, people started leaving this place. Very few people ever liked to come here," Krid replied and continued after a brief pause, "Now, Oliver stop getting angry with your friends and hug them to sort it out."

"But, nobody believed me even though I told them the truth," Oliver crossed his arms.

"Reggie, Isa, Alvin, Harvey…you should believe him when he is telling you the truth, you know?" Krid tried to persuade.

Harvey was about to oppose, but before he could do so, Krid interrupted by saying, "Oliver is like a small brother to all of you, so you should love him. And Oliver in return can show you alchemy."

"WHAT!" The children exclaimed simultaneously with widened eyes.

Even the shy person of the group, Reggie shouted that time, "YOU KNOW ALCHEMY?"

"Yes, I do," Oliver replied with a low voice while blushing.

"Awesome," Alvin said.

And Isa said excitedly, "Show us."

Oliver got happy when everyone showed interest in watching alchemy. "Let's go over there," Oliver pointed toward a plain field and continued, "I need to make a transmutation circle to show you alchemy. And I can also show you alkahestry if you want."

"What is that?" Harvey enquired.

"That's a different kind of alchemy used by people of Xing," Oliver replied.

"Do you mean the country in the far east? Beyond the Great Desert?" Alvin asked curiously.

"Yes," Oliver answered.

"You are so awesome man," Alvin praised.

Oliver started blushing when everyone started praising him. He and all the kids moved to the plain field with less grass, so that Oliver could show them alchemy. And while Oliver was busy showing alchemy to other kids, Thomas was sitting beside Krid, looking toward the lake. "Even though war was fought here, this place still feels very peaceful," Thomas said.

"Indeed," Krid responded.

"So, do you live here with someone?" Thomas asked.

"These kids are all I know as close to a friend or family," Krid replied and continued, "What about you? What are you going to do now?"

Thomas took a deep breath and exhaled. "I can't remember anything, and I am surrounded by kids who are my only hope as of now. And if losing memory is not enough, I am an Ishvalan too," He answered.

"Yes, Ishvalans are being seen differently after the war," Krid said and continued while standing up, "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to start my dinner preparation"

Thomas remained seated while he asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Krid replied.

"The story you told us…in that story, what actually happened to the man who disappeared?" Thomas questioned.

"Nothing," Krid answered and turned around. Then after a brief pause, he said, "Because he was a monster all along." And Krid left after saying that, leaving Thomas in a cliffhanger.


	71. Desperation (Part 4 - Central Park)

**[Central City]**

As promised to Ling, Roy had arranged a private meeting at Central Park for Ling and him. For security purpose, few soldiers were deployed outside the park. It was evening, and Ling was wandering with Roy in the park which was filled with various trees and flowers. And as usual, Roy had Riza as his personal assistant/ bodyguard, and two more soldiers were also present there just because he was a Major General now. Similarly, Ling had the 2 Zhansi, Lan Fan and his political advisor, Hu Zemin with him. Mei had gone to meet the Elric brothers and Winry who were in Central to attend Oliver's funeral. After attending the funeral, the Elrics decided to stay in Central for some time, in order to pay a visit to their friends. Moreover, Alphonse was also supposed to deliver some lessons to the State Alchemist aspirants.

So, while Ling and Roy were walking through the park, Ling said, "Looks like you resolved your Ishval issue after all."

"There is still some work needed to be done," Roy smiled.

"I have heard that you are the most powerful state alchemist of them all?" Ling questioned.

Roy laughed and replied, "Well, what can I say."

When Ling didn't receive a definite answer, he looked at Riza walking behind and asked, "What do you think Major Hawkeye? Isn't he the most powerful state alchemist? You have seen all the state alchemists, and you know General Mustang very well. So I guess you are the best person to make a judgment."

After Ling asked the question he stopped, and even Roy stopped to look at Riza for the answer. So, Riza answered with her usual blank face, without making any eye contact, "There is no doubt that flame alchemy is the most destructive alchemy, but if you ask me about the most powerful state alchemist then I don't think he is the one. At least not on a rainy day."

Hearing Riza's answer, Roy looked forward and left a sigh whereas everyone else started laughing. Yin was also laughing with her mask on and walking in front of Ling and Roy. Then suddenly, something came flying toward Yin and dropped near her feet. Everyone looked toward the object when they heard its sound while hitting the ground. It was an unpinned grenade, and without wasting a fraction of second, Yin quickly threw a kunai knife in a random direction, away from their group and pulled out a sword-like looking thing from her back. That thing turned out to be an umbrella when she opened it and placed its handle on the ground and covered the grenade with it by pressing the umbrella, making the handle short and fully covering the grenade. The canopy of the umbrella had a transmutation circle drawn on it.

When the grenade exploded, the explosion actually happened at some distance where Yin had thrown her kunai knife. After watching Yin's action, Roy shouted, "What was that?"

"I transferred the explosion energy from that grenade to the place where I threw the knife," Yin replied.

Everyone was on guard due to that incident. And as anticipated, some Ishvalans rushed out of the bushes ahead, and Richard, the maths teacher who kidnapped Oliver, was the one leading them. As soon as the Ishvalans jumped out of the bushes, they started firing. Yin quickly stretched her umbrella and used it as a shield between the Ishvalans and the others. None of the bullets were able to put a dent on the umbrella, the bullets were falling on the ground as soon as they came in contact with the umbrella. In the meantime, Riza was firing bullets at the Ishvalans and Yang was defending others by putting a wall before them. Riza had shot 2 Ishvalans in their legs due to which they were unable to move anymore. Still, there were 5-6 more Ishvalans with Richard who were rushing toward them while firing bullets from their rifle. Lan Fan was fighting on her own, while Ling, Hu, and Roy were sitting behind one of the walls created by Yang. Riza also took cover behind a wall created beside the wall where Roy was, and asked, "Shall we kill them?"

"No, it will worsen the image of the military in front of other Ishvalans," Roy replied.

"Killing would have been much easier," Yang said while he was taking cover beside Riza.

Suddenly, the firing stopped for a brief moment and everyone heard the reloading of the rifles. Because Riza was with two handguns, she moved out of the wall and shot one Ishvalan on his leg. In the meantime, another Ishvalan was going to fire at Riza, so Riza again hid behind the wall expecting a gunshot. But, she didn't hear any. When she looked out of the wall, she saw all the Ishvalans and Richard were on the ground with kunai knives stuck on their hands. Ling, Hu, and Roy also stood up to see the scenario.

Now that the situation was under control, Ling took a sigh of relief and said with a smirk, "Looks like the women have finished the job."

But then, Roy saw few injured Ishvalans, were crawling to reach to their rifles. Like the showoff he was, Roy snapped with his ignition gloves on, and a streak of fire burnt all the rifles lying on the ground. But the streak which Roy created, went just beside Yin's shoulder before it burnt the rifles. She was startled because of that. So, once she calmed down, she opened her mask and turned around to face Roy and his team. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR? AND WHO DID THAT?" She yelled.

Roy and the other two Amestrian soldiers were looking at her face, without replying anything. So, she shouted again, "I AM ASKING SOMETHING."

Roy cleared his throat and replied with a bit of hesitation in his voice, "I did it."

"May I know why?" Yin asked with lowered eyebrows.

Roy gulped and answered, "Well, Thaaa-"

But before he could complete his sentence, Riza interrupted, "He burnt off the rifles because two of the militants were trying to reach for them. It was just a precautionary measure."

Roy and his two bodyguard's were still gazing at Yin. So, Ling went near Roy and put his hand on his shoulder. "I can understand," Ling empathized.

Roy looked at Ling, but because of embarrassment, he was unable to answer. Meanwhile, Riza said, "General, we need to inform the Central Command."

But Roy was amazed to find a bit of jealousy in her tone. He looked at her with widened eyes, but he didn't respond to her proposition. So, Riza repeated, "General!"

"Yeah, sure," Roy replied instantly.

He looked at his two bodyguards standing there and ordered, "Go and inform the Central Command about what happened here. And tell them to send some men to arrest these people."

The soldier ran to the nearest telephone booth to call Central Command. Meanwhile, Roy went near Richard, who was also wounded and sitting on the ground, glaring at Roy. Roy looked at Richard for some moment and then said while removing his gloves, "An Amestrian fighting along the IFF. There is only one such person in my recent knowledge. As a matter of fact, I saw you with the leader of IFF in a photograph. Do you happen to be the missing maths teacher of Military School, Richard Green?"

"Yes," Richard replied.

And as soon as Richard said "Yes", Roy punched him hard on his face which made him fall on the ground. Roy was about to hit Richard on his face again, but before that Riza interrupted, "General don't."

When Roy heard her voice, he stopped and said, "You shouldn't have dragged my personal life into your meaningless war."

Roy then turned around and walked a little away from Richard. In the meantime, Richard sat up and teased Roy by saying, "General Mustang, haven't you heard the old saying? Everything is fair in love and war…At least we are better than you. We never hurt your son, and we even promised his safe return once our demand is met. But, what you do? You create monsters using your evil alchemy and use them to do your dirty work. First, you created a philosopher stone by killing innocents, then you created chimeras, and now… and now you have created something more ungodly so that you can wipe out anyone who stands against your tyranny."

Roy and Riza understood what he was referring to. So, Riza informed, "We have nothing to do with the incident which took place at the warehouse."

"Does every dog in the military is trained to lie like that?" Richard asked with narrowed eyebrows.

Everyone from Xing was listening to their conversation, still, they didn't think to interfere because it was Amestris' private matter. Meanwhile, some soldiers who were standing outside Central Park reached there. They arrested all the militants of IFF and took them to jail.

Ling and his team also went to the hotel they were staying in, accompanied by 2 Amestrian soldiers. After everyone was gone from the park, Roy and Riza got inside their car. Riza sat on the driver seat and Roy sat beside her. Roy leaned back his head on the seat and sighed. "What a rough day it was," Roy said.

After a brief moment, Roy looked at Riza and smirked. So, Riza asked, "Why are you smiling?"

"I am going to ask you a question, and I expect only the truth from you," Roy replied.

"What?" Riza questioned curiously.

"Weren't you jealous when I was looking at Yin?" Roy enquired.

"I was not," Riza answered with a stoic voice.

"I thought you never get jealous when you see me with other women, but here we are," Roy smiled.

"I would very much appreciate if you stop this conversation right now, General Roy Mustang," Riza scolded.

Roy looked ahead and answered, "Don't worry Major Hawkeye, you just need to smile very often, and you look much prettier than Yin."

Riza started the car and after some time a smile appeared on her face, thinking about what Roy said. When she smiled, Roy noticed that even though he was looking ahead. So, he smiled and commented, "Just like that."


	72. Desperation (Part 5 - Monkey & Croc)

The reckless action of Richard brought him and his Ishvalan companions down. All of them were arrested and taken to Central Command for interrogation. Because Roy was the highest official present at the incident, he took the charge of leading the interrogation by himself.

The interrogation room was a small room with almost no amenities, except a table, two chairs at the opposite ends of the table and a light bulb hanging over the table. Richard was sitting on one of the chairs, with his hands tied with a handcuff and kept below the table. He was waiting for someone to enter through the door to the room, and after some time his wait was over when Roy entered inside the room along with Jean Havoc and Riza. Jean and Riza stood near the wall, behind Roy, and Roy sat on the other unoccupied chair. He looked at Richard and said calmly, "Hello Richard. I thought you to be a smart person considering the plan you executed to kidnap my son, but I didn't know, you would become so desperate to kill me and the prince of Xing, while we were being heavily guarded."

"Despair gives birth to desperation, Mustang… I thought the military would have stopped doing the unholy experiments, but it turns out to be just another misunderstanding after all," Richard responded and then suddenly moved his hands from down the table and slammed them on the table. He then continued with pure anger, "You must be proud of your monster, now that it did a great job by butchering and mutilating so many people who had the guts to stand against you."

Roy kept his cool and replied, "I told you earlier, the military had no involvement with the attack at the warehouse."

"And why would I believe you?" Richard questioned.

Roy stood up by pushing his chair back and shouted, "BECAUSE NOBODY IN THE MILITARY KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT THE DAMN MONSTER."

Roy then started breathing heavily, because of which Richard calmly leaned back on his chair. He looked Roy's angry eyes and asked, "What about your desperation, General Mustang? Is it because of your son?"

Roy first calmed down and sat back on his chair. "Listen, Richard, we are trying to save Ishval. If you continue these violent actions, then it's just a matter of time, we will be in war again," Roy replied.

Richard smirked upon hearing Roy's answer and questioned, "Mustang, have you heard the story of the crocodile and the monkey?"

"No," Roy answered.

Richard put his hands on the table and began the story, "There was a big plum tree in between a big lake and a monkey used to live in that tree. The monkey was happy spending its life in the tree, eating plums, but it never knew the world other than the tree, mainly because it couldn't swim. With time, all the plums finished up in that tree and the monkey didn't know what to do next. Getting this opportunity, a crocodile which was living in the lake, came near the tree and told the monkey that it knew a different plum tree which produces more tasty plums, and all the monkey had to do was to ride the crocodile's back and the crocodile would take the monkey there. The monkey trusted the crocodile and rode its back. The crocodile then swam deep into the lake instead of any land surface. The monkey then realized what a great mistake it had made," Richard then looked into Roy's eyes and asked, "Do you know what happened to the monkey after that?"

Roy didn't speak for a moment and then replied, "The crocodile ate him," with a stressed voice.

"Yes, it was too late for the monkey. The monkey trusted somebody who claimed to be its savior, but that someone turned out to be just an opportunist," Richard raised his voice and continued, "And that's the same thing you want to do for the Ishvalans. You are giving them false hopes of a better future. But, when you will see fit, you will again slaughter them, torment them."

"It is useless talking to you about peace when you have already made up your mind," Roy said and continued, "Let's talk something different…Where is Thomas Maxwell?"

"If I had known that, I would have never been here. I don't even know where my remaining comrades are? Are they alive? Are they dead? Who knows? All I saw was the body parts of many of my comrades," Richard answered with a flushed face while glaring at Roy.

After a few moments, Richard suddenly smirked which followed by a loud laugh. Everyone in the room was confused by his action. So, Roy looked at him with furrowed eyebrows and asked, "Why are you laughing?"

Richard stopped laughing and replied, "Do you want to know how desperate I am, General Mustang?"

"What do you mean?" Roy questioned curiously.

"I mean, you were correct about me being a smart man. I didn't want to execute this plan, but now I don't see any other options," Richard answered.

"What plan?" Roy asked again.

"Before attacking you, I sent some of my comrades with explosives to various part of the city. Until you and your dear Fuehrer agree to make Ishval a free country, you will listen explosions from many parts of the city," Richard smiled.

Everyone in the room was panicked when they heard Richard. Roy stood up from his chair and grabbed Richard's collar. He pulled Richard toward him, and said, "Don't you fucking dare it. Lots of innocent civilians will die."

"Didn't the military kill innocent Ishvalans when they attacked Ishval? Then how come we are different from you, General Mustang?" Richard replied.

Roy removed his hands from Richard's collar by pushing him back and then looked down at the table. Meanwhile, Richard, who was standing in front of Roy, continued, "The war which started many years back never actually ended, and it won't be over until justice is done."

Now because of the revelation of Richard, Roy, Riza, and Jean were in shock. Jean and Riza were anxiously waiting for Roy's order, whereas Richard was standing and smiling.


	73. Disappointment (Part 1 - The Book)

**[Central City]**

After the Ishvalan rebels were captured by Roy with the help of the Xingese guests, Ling, and his companions were safely dropped at their hotel. Later, when the leader of the Ishvalan group was interrogated, he revealed that the attack was just a part of a big sinister plan. Meanwhile, Mei had gone to meet the Elric brothers, unaware about the attack on her half-brother.

Alphonse, Winry, Mei, and Xiao-Mei were in the hotel where the Elric brothers were staying for some days. They were sitting on the sofa, having some snacks and talking about their life after the events of promise day. Mei was sitting too close to Alphonse, holding his arm, because of which Alphonse was a bit uncomfortable. "Oh Alphonse, I missed you so much," Mei held Al's arm more tightly.

Alphonse was looking at Winry, who was trying to contain her laugh. Alphonse wanted to get out of that awkward situation, but it was a well-known fact that he was incapable of being rude to anyone, so he was stuck in that awkward situation, unable to decide what to do. And then suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Alphonse stood up quickly, pulling his arm from Mei's grasp and said, "I think its brother."

Alphonse was finally very happy getting out of that awkward situation. And when he looked toward Winry, he could clearly see her trying hard to control her laugh. "Yes, yes, it should be Ed," Winry said while suppressing her laugh.

Meanwhile, Mei couldn't help but notice Winry. "What is so funny Winry?" Mei asked rhetorically and continued, "For your information, Alphonse and I are a couple."

As soon as Winry heard that, she couldn't hold her laugh anymore and burst into laughter, whereas Alphonse's face went all red like a tomato. He quickly rushed toward the door and opened it. And as expected, Ed was standing there holding a book. He was wearing his favorite red cloak as usual. When he saw Al attending the door, he greeted by saying, "Hey Al," and then informed, "Sorry I took some time at a pawn shop buying this book."

He showed the book to Al which had a brown cover and BH written on it at the lower right corner. Al just looked at the book, but didn't pay much attention and replied with his signature innocent smile, "It's alright brother."

Ed noticed that Al was blushing for some reason, and Winry was laughing out loudly inside. So he asked, "What happened Al? Why is your face appearing red? And why is Winry laughing so loud?"

Because of Ed's questions, Al was startled and stood stiff before replying. "Mei is here," Al stuttered.

"Do you mean the female shrimp with that strange little cat?" Ed joked with a low voice.

"That's a panda brother," Al rectified.

"Alright, panda," Ed said while walking inside the room where others were sitting. He saw Winry, Mei and Xiao-Mei were sitting on the sofa having some snacks. When Winry saw Ed, she stopped laughing and Mei greeted him by saying, "Hello Edward."

"Hey Mei, are Ling and Lan Fan also here?" Ed inquired.

"No, they had a meeting with General Mustang, so they couldn't come," Mei informed.

"I see…well, it's good to see you, Mei," Ed smiled.

When Ed only greeted Mei, Xiao-Mei glared at Ed, because of which Ed had to pay some attention to Xiao-Mei as well. "You too …aaa…hmmm," Ed scratched his head to remember the panda's name, but he was unable to remember it. Fortunately, Al came to the rescue and reminded, "Its Xiao-Mei brother," by whispering.

"Yes, It's good to see you too Xiao-Mei," Ed finished off his sentence.

Xiao-Mei got happy when Ed greeted her and went back to eat snacks. Ed and Al then sat on the sofa, joining the others. Ed put the book he brought, on the small table in front of the sofa. Winry looked at the book and picked it up. She opened the book and saw the first page, where she could see the title of the book and a signature at the right corner of the book. Winry read the title of the book while everyone was resting on the sofa or having snacks. "'The Knight' …Is it some fairy tale book?" Winry questioned.

Ed looked at Winry and answered, "I read the first page, and it seems like a fairy tale. But, then I noticed the signature on the first page."

Winry flipped back to the first page and looked at the signature made with black ink. "Whose signature is that?" Winry asked.

Al carefully looked at the signature and said while remembering something, "I think I have seen this signature somewhere."

"It's the autograph of our dear General Mustang," Ed smiled and continued, "And by autograph, I mean the signature which he uses for his fans, especially lady friends."

Winry again looked at the signature. She then noticed the big 'R' and an 'M' beside it, which was shaped like a heart. "Now I see it," Winry said.

Soon after that, Al and Mei also looked at the signature and noticed Roy's initials. "And I thought, he loved his Lieutenant," Mei commented.

"Well…he still does," Al said with a shrewd voice and narrowed eyebrows.

Meanwhile, Ed said, "However, I am still trying to figure out, how THIS book ended up in a pawn shop."

Everyone looked at Ed curiously. "What do you mean?" Winry asked while putting the book back on the table.

"Once I went to Mustang's house when we were posted in Eastern Command. There I found this book in his bookshelf. When I asked him to let me borrow the book, he straight up refused. He told me to take any other book, but not this book," Ed explained.

"But, why would he refuse to lend a fairy tale book?" Winry questioned.

"He didn't give me a proper reason for that. He just told me that the book was given to him by someone special," Ed answered.

"Brother, do you think this book could not be just a fairy tale book? I mean it could be something more… like it could be hiding some alchemical formulas just like Dr. Marcoh's cooking recipe notes," Al said.

"You might be correct Al. But, if this book would have been so important then why did he sell it to a pawn shop?" Ed responded.

"Maybe it's not an alchemical note after all. It could just be a gift from someone," Winry said.

"Why don't we find out?" Ed smirked with clear excitement in his face.

"I think you should take it to General Mustang first. He can tell you instantly if this contains any alchemy stuff or not. After all it belonged to him," Winry advised.

"Maybe you are right," Ed sighed, letting all his excitement diminish and continued, "I will meet Mustang tomorrow then."

In the meantime, Al was holding the book in his hands and carefully looking at the book cover. So, Ed asked, "What happened Al? What are you thinking?"

"Do we happen to know anyone with their first name starting with the letter B and last name starting with the letter H?" Al enquired.

"I guess you're talking about the two letters on the cover," Ed said.

"Yes," Al replied.

"I also thought about that, but I couldn't remember anyone fitting that criteria," Ed informed.

While Al and Ed were busy figuring out the mystery behind that book, Mei and Xiao-Mei were bored and were lying on the sofa. And then suddenly, Mei interrupted with a bored voice, "Wasn't General Mustang's Lieutenant's last name, Hawkeye? Maybe the B stands for some person related to her."

Ed and Al were surprised after listening to Mei. They were looking at her with widened eyes, which made Mei blush. "Did I say something terrible?" Mei asked with a forced smile.

Soon after she asked the question, she saw a huge smile appearing on the face of the Elric brothers. "You are a genius Mei," Al shouted.

Mei started blushing and went speechless when she heard Al's praise. She kept on repeating, "Alphonse thinks I am a genius," in her mind while covering her face with her hands out of shyness.

Meanwhile, Al and Ed again went back to uncover the mystery of that book without paying much attention to Mei, who was in her dream world now. "I remember Major Hawkeye's father was an alchemist, but I don't know much about him," Ed informed.

"Maybe General Mustang got this book from her, now that we know they had a son together," Al added.

In the meantime, Winry got irritated and yelled, "You two can just ask General Mustang tomorrow."

To which Ed replied calmly, "There is no fun in-," but before he could complete his sentence, they heard a huge explosion and everyone stood up. "What was that?" Winry said.

All of them then rushed to the window to find out what was going on. When they gazed out of the window, they saw the building which was next to their hotel was demolished.


	74. Disappointment (Part 2 - Old Age Home)

The mystery of the book which the Elric brothers were solving with full dedication was suddenly interrupted by the noise of an explosion which took place in a building near their hotel. Everyone present in the room, gazed out of the window and saw the building in front of their hotel was demolished. The incident took place after an hour from the arrest of Richard Green, who was at the interrogation room of Central Command.

Right after the building demolished, first the nearby soldiers and some civilians gathered there to help. Watching the scene, Winry said, "Oh my God that was an old age home."

"Let's go and see if we can help," Ed proposed.

Everyone then rushed to the demolished building to lend help. While going, Ed ordered, "Al, call Central command and inform them about the blast here. Also, call for some medical help."

Al nodded his head with a "hmmm" and went to the reception to make a call, while everyone else moved to help. When they reached there, they found that many people were already gathered there to help find any survivor buried under the rubble, but the military was not allowing anyone to go any close to the incident area. And right at that moment, they heard one more explosion at a distant. Everyone looked in the direction of the explosion. "What was that?" Mei reacted.

"Looks like something bad is happening in this city which we are unaware of," Ed said with a concerned voice.

"Who could be responsible for this?" Winry asked.

"Maybe IFF," Ed replied and continued, "They are a group of Ishvalan radicals who are trying to make Ishval a free country."

"Their actions are nothing less than of a terrorist," Winry rebuked.

"I don't know what's going on right now?" Ed sighed and continued, "All we can do at this moment is to help people in need."

In the meantime, Al reached there and informed, "Brother, I have informed the Central command, and medical help is on its way."

"Good," Ed responded.

While Ed was facing Al, he noticed a man wearing a black hooded cloak. And then a breeze hit the man, moving his hood a bit. It was enough for Ed to see the scarlet eyes of that man. Ed slowly walked toward the man, but before Ed could reach near him, the man saw him and slowly tried to leave that place. Ed was now confirmed that the man had something to do with the blast. So, Ed said while slowly moving through the crowd, "Al, come with me. There is an Ishvalan there who is trying to escape. Maybe he is the one behind the blast."

Al also saw the Ishvalan man who was subtly trying to get out of that place. Both the brothers started following him, but the man noticed them and started running. Watching that, Ed and Al began to chase him. The chase continued for a few minutes, and they never lost the track of that Ishvalan man. Finally, they got fortunate when the man took a turn into an alley which was a dead end. Both the brothers were standing at the entry of that alley and looking at the Ishvalan man who had no way to escape now. All of them were panting due to the long chase they had. "Stop running from us, I promise we won't hurt you," Ed said while panting.

The Ishvalan man faced them and removed the hood he was wearing. He was a tall muscular young man with short black hair and he was wearing a round neck black t-shirt. There was a big scar over and below his right eye. He was clearly not afraid of the fact that he was busted, and that also by the Elric brothers. "Was that you who bombed the old age home?" Ed asked.

The man didn't reply and slowly started moving toward the brothers. "Brother, I think he is going to attack us," Al said with a concerned voice.

"Don't worry Al, just create a wall behind us so that he cannot escape," Ed advised.

"Alright," Al responded.

Al used alchemy to block the entry by creating a wall. Watching that, the Ishvalan man got angrier and charged toward Ed. He punched Ed but, Ed blocked that attack with his hand. Then he kicked Ed, and again Ed blocked it. Ed's reaction enraged the Ishvalan man due to which he started raining punches and kicks. Al was worriedly watching his brother in defensive position. Al said with a concerned voice, "Brother, do you need any-"

But before Al could complete his sentence, Ed interrupted while fighting with the Ishvalan, "Don't worry Al, I can handle this." And to complement his answer to his brother, Ed smirked with confidence.

And just after that, Ed punched the man. Even though the man successfully blocked the attack with crossed wrists, the force from Ed's punch pushed the man to some distance. "How can a tiny boy like you punch me so hard?" The man looked at Ed with narrowed eyebrows.

But, the man said something which he shouldn't have said. "You shouldn't have said tiny. Now you have made him angry," Al warned the man.

"You want to know, how I punched you so hard. Let me show you," Ed smiled even though his eyes were radiating anger.

Ed slowly removed his red cloak and threw it to Al. When he was done removing his cloak, the man and even Al were surprised to see Ed's arm. It was an automail, but it was not any typical automail, it was an exoskeleton covering Ed's both arms.

After the incident of promised day, Ed got his limbs back by sacrificing the ability to perform alchemy. He gave up alchemy after that, but his tendency to get into trouble and help others never changed. Now that there was no alchemy to help him, he started relying on the gadgets provided by Winry. He then had two jobs to do every day, one was to be a helper for Winry in her automail shop and being a dummy for her new automail inventions, while the other job was to rebuild his house with his brother, which he burnt a long time ago. In such a young age, he learned how to be satisfied and be happy with whatever he had.

The automail which he was wearing was a new design of Winry which was not meant for physically handicap people. Instead, the model was meant to increase the tendency of a person. It was worn on the hand like an exoskeleton and it increased the strength of a person as well as providing an armored cover for the hands. But, the only problem was that the model which Ed was wearing was in testing phase. Moreover, Winry was unaware that Ed had brought them to Central and was wearing them.

After watching the exoskeleton automail of Ed, the Ishvalan man asked curiously, "What is that?"

"It's an exoskeleton automail of battle grade. It is light and strong at the same time," Ed replied with a smile.

Meanwhile, Al shouted, "I thought you were using it at home…Do Winry knows about it?"

"No," Ed looked at Al and let out a guilty laughter.

"WHAT?" Al looked at Ed with widened eyes.

"Please do not tell her. If she finds out that I have brought her little piece of experiment along with me to Central, she will definitely kill me with her wrench," Ed requested.

"Brotherrr…," Al cried.

Meanwhile, the man moved some steps back. Watching that Ed taunted him by saying, "Why are you moving back? Are you really that afraid?"

"Even I got a secret weapon to fight with you, Edward Elric," The man smirked.

"Great, you know me," Ed mocked.

The man removed his t-shirt and started groaning as his body was transforming into something else. "Interesting, he is a human chimera," Ed said.

And after transformation, the man looked like a were-leopard. "So you are a leopard chimera I guess," Ed commented, but he was not amazed a bit.

"Yes," The man growled.

"For your information, I have fought more dangerous people than you," Ed took a fighting stance.

And then suddenly, Ed saw the man was too close to him and the man was about to attack Ed with his claws. Ed was lucky that he saw the attack in time, and he blocked it with his automail exoskeleton. Because the exoskeleton was metal, Ed saved himself from a brutal attack. "Looks like your speed and strength have increased," Ed said.

The man then attacked Ed with a barrage of attacks, and Ed was continuously defending himself. Gradually, Ed got an opening to attack, but when he tried to punch, the man held his fist with one hand. But, the man was not aware of one more secret weapon that Ed was hiding. Suddenly a blade emerged from the exoskeleton's upper wrist part and grazed the upper skin of that man. The man was startled and jumped back few steps back. "What happened? Didn't you see that coming?" Ed mocked.

Ed extended the blade from his other wrist, which seemed very much like his old fighting style where he used to transmute his automail to create a blade. Watching that Al got excited and the man got nervous. "You are so cool brother," Al clapped excitedly.

"What if I am not an alchemist anymore? I can still kick some ass," Ed smirked.

Suddenly, Ed felt something in his automail. When he looked at it, he found some of the screws had come off. When he tried to move his arms, he found it hard because the exoskeleton was somehow jammed due to which Ed had to exert extra force to move his own hand. Both Al and the man noticed that. "What happened? Didn't you see that coming?" The man mocked.

The man charged toward Ed who was defenseless at the moment. But, before the man could attack Ed with his claws, Al created a small wall in between them using alchemy. Al then produced multiple protrusions from one side of the wall in that alley. The man tried to dodge all the attacks, but when he thought he was safe from Al's assault, he was already trapped inside Al's jail. Al used alchemy to create more protrusions to make sure that the man couldn't move until the military comes there. Ed was happy that his brother captured the human chimera, but he was also disappointed in himself to rely on his brother to save him. "Nice work Al, guess I have to work harder to save my own ass," Ed smiled and then walked toward that man with his stiff hands.

"Now, Mr. Leopard, can you please tell us if you are the one responsible for blasting the old age home?" Ed asked.

"No," The man replied.

"Are you a part of IFF?" Ed inquired.

"Yes," The man answered.

"Does this mean, IFF is not responsible for the blasts?" Ed questioned.

"I am not sure and even if they are responsible for this, I have no clue on why they are doing this," The man replied.

Suddenly someone broke the wall that Al had created at the entry of that alley. Everyone looked toward the man who broke the wall. It was Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong with his signature alchemy gauntlets on and the blue military uniform.


	75. Disappointment (Part 3 - Automail)

After an interesting fight between Ed and a mysterious Ishvalan human chimera, Al intervened and captured the Ishvalan after the exoskeleton automail which Ed was wearing got jammed. And right after that, Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong reached there. He made his entrance by breaking the wall created by Al at the entry of that alley.

While the soldiers were preparing to arrest the Ishvalan man, Colonel Armstrong looked at the Elric brothers and said with a big smile and his usual heavenly voice, "Thank you, boys. You helped the military again."

"It's nothing Colonel Armstrong, we were just doing our job," Al smiled while moving his hands on his head.

"We heard one more explosion at some distance. What's going on?" Ed asked while hanging his one hand like a deadweight.

"IFF did all those blasts, but you don't need to worry about that anymore. Everything is under control now," Alex replied and then noticed Ed's hanging arm. "What happened to your arm," Alex questioned.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was trying a new gadget made by Winry," Ed smiled.

"And it's broken?" Alex asked.

Ed sighed and replied, "Unfortunately yes."

In the meantime, the Ishvalan man was arrested by the military after which he turned back to his human form from his exotic leopard form. While the Ishvalan man was being taken with his hands cuffed, he shouted, "I AM TELLING YOU, I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BLAST. I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THESE BLASTS."

Ed looked at the man and said, "Okay, okay, stop shouting. But, you are still an IFF militant. Why can't you stop violence and try to talk with the newly formed government? I know some people who will do anything to help you."

The man chuckled and replied, "The government will never understand what we want, Edward Elric. They just want to suppress us, but it will never happen till IFF is present…Do you still think this government is any good from the previous one? Well, let me shine some truth. They are still making monsters using their unholy alchemy." He looked at Alex with narrowed eyes and questioned, "Isn't it true Colonel that a monster attacked a warehouse and brutally killed many Ishvalans? I am sure the monster was your unholy creation from alchemy."

Soon after that the man was forcibly taken away from there. After he was gone, Ed looked at Alex and exclaimed, "Monster?"

"Yes, I went to their base and saw some claw marks which were definitely of some large creature. But, it has nothing to do with the military," Alex answered.

"Does that have anything to do with Father?" Ed asked.

"We don't know yet, we only know that the monster was pure black and un-killable," Alex informed.

Ed and Al were concerned about the incident and wanted to get some more information. But, they were interrupted by a very familiar voice. "Alphonse," Mei shouted.

Both the brothers looked toward the direction from where the voice came and saw Mei and Winry running toward them. While running, Winry's face turned from a concerned girl to an angry girl. Ed understood why she was angry. After coming close to Ed, Winry first looked at the exoskeleton automail that Ed was wearing and shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY AUTOMAIL?"

"I…was…just trying," Ed stuttered while his face was covered with beads of sweat.

"I told you not to use that. It is under construction," Winry scolded.

Ed laughed hesitantly out of fear, meanwhile, Winry continued, "And, why aren't you moving your hand?"

"It's…jammed," Ed smiled with a guilty face.

"That is what happens when you don't listen to your engineer," Winry responded.

"Sorry," Ed lowered his head.

Winry sighed and said, "Now we have to go to Rush Valley in order to get the parts."

"But, I have still some alchemy lessons left to teach," Al informed.

Al primarily came to Central City to give some alchemy lessons to the state alchemy aspirants, now that there was a scarcity of state alchemists in the country. But his concern disappeared instantly when Alex told, "I was going to tell you, Alphonse, that the classes have been canceled due to the recent circumstances."

Listening to that, Winry smirked and looked at Al. "You got your answer, Al," Winry said.

Al sighed and replied, "Fine then, I will go with you."

Mei couldn't believe that just after meeting Al a few hours ago, Al was leaving for Rush Valley. So, she didn't think much and said, "I am also coming with you."

"Don't you need to ask Ling for that?" Winry asked.

"He will understand, and anyways he considers you two as the best alchemists of Amestris. So, he won't worry. I will be safe with you," Mei smiled.

"Did he really said that?" Ed raised his eyebrow.

"Yes, that's the truth," Mei lifted her head with confidence and Xiao-Mei also acted along with Mei to convince the Elric brothers that she was telling the truth.

Meanwhile, Alex enquired, "Excuse me, Miss Mei. Did you heal the survivors of the old age home?"

"Yes, I have stopped their bleeding and healed as much as I could, rest is up to your medical team," Mei informed.

"Great work out there Miss Mei, Miss Winry," Alex smiled.

Both of them smiled back after Alex's appreciation. And in the meantime, Ed interrupted, "Mei, did anyone die because of the blast?"

Mei lowered her eyes and replied, "Five as of now. The military is searching for other people who might be buried under the rubbles."

"Let's go then, and lend them a hand," Ed proposed.

"But, first I need to take out that automail from your hand, otherwise you cannot help," Winry interrupted.

Ed realized that she was telling the truth which he forgot for a moment, and answered, "Yeah, you are right."

"Let's go then," Winry said.

Ed was about to leave, but he remembered something. He turned back and went to Alex. "Colonel Armstrong, I forgot to tell you one thing. I have a book which belongs to General Mustang. It's a brown book with BH written over it, the book's name is 'The Knight'…tell him I bought it from a pawn shop," Ed informed.

"Sure," Alex replied.

Then they took their farewell from Alex to help find the survivors.


	76. Disappointment(Part4-Interrogation Room)

While there had two blasts in Central City, Roy and his team were still busy interrogating Richard Green, the Maths teacher of Oliver, and the person who led a group of IFF militants to attack Roy and the Xingese guests at the Central Park. During the interrogation, Richard revealed the truth about Oliver. Even though it was already known to Roy and Riza, their other teammates which included Havoc, Breda, Falman and Fuery, were totally shocked after learning the truth.

Everyone was outside the room, suppressing their curiosity to ask Roy many questions, but Jean Havoc was not like everyone else. He was so shocked that there was no cigarette in his mouth. He looked at Roy with widened eyes and shouted, "Oliver is alive?"

Riza sighed and calmly answered, "Yes."

Everyone now looked at Riza. "How? We saw his dead body," Jean asked.

But, instead of replying to Jean, Roy said with authority, "Right now we have a bigger problem. We have to figure out whether Richard is telling the truth or not."

And then suddenly, the phone present there rang. Fuery rushed to pick up the call. He talked for less than a minute and after he hanged up the phone and turned around, he was startled after finding everyone looking at him very seriously. "What is it?" Roy inquired.

"There have been two bombings in the city. And Colonel Armstrong has left for one of the blast areas," Fuery informed.

Roy got angry and rushed inside the interrogation room by opening the door very aggressively. He was followed by Riza and Jean, but before they could stop him, Roy punched Richard on the face. Richard fell from his chair on to the floor because of the force with which Roy hit him. He even spat some amount of blood after he received the punch.

Because of Roy's actions, Richard was now certain that the blasts had taken place. He spat some blood on the floor. "That was a pretty hard punch, Mustang," He grinned.

Roy was again about to hit him, but Riza interrupted by shouting, "General!"

Roy stopped and took a deep breath while closing his eyes to relax. Then he looked down to Richard and said, "Don't you care about innocent people who didn't have anything to do with the Ishvalan war? Do you want to start one more war? Is that your grand plan to free Ishval?"

Richard wiped out the blood on his lips with his cuffed hands and replied, "Don't play your games with me, Mustang. I told you, we don't want to do this, but we have no other options left."

"You had an option damn-it. And that was to give the Amestrian government a chance to serve Ishval," Roy growled.

Richard smiled at Roy while lying on the floor and responded, "That was never an option."

Roy understood that it was almost impossible to persuade Richard, so he turned around and walked toward the door of the interrogation room, but before he could leave, Richard said, "But, you have an option, Mustang."

Roy turned around and looked at Richard. "What?" Roy narrowed his eyes.

"You can stop the upcoming destruction. You just have to do some fast paper works to remove your military from Ishval and make it a free country," Richard replied.

"What if even after signing the agreement, we don't adhere to it?" Roy questioned.

"Then war will be the only option left. And you know as well as anyone in this room knows, how bad it can be for Amestris," Richard answered.

Roy turned around and left the room without giving an answer to Richard who was still lying on the floor helplessly. When they got outside the interrogation room, Roy called, "Havoc, Falman."

Havoc and Falman stood in attention stance and responded with a, "Yes Sir."

"Activate the emergency evacuation protocol. We can't evade the damage, so all we can do is to minimize it, and rescue the victims," Roy ordered.

"Yes Sir," Havoc and Falman said confidently.

Roy then called Fuery and Breda and ordered, "Stay here and gather insights from the other Ishvalans as well. If you find anything important, contact me immediately."

Fuery and Breda also responded confidently by saying, "Yes Sir."

Then he called Riza by saying, "Major Hawkeye."

Riza stood right in front of Roy in attention stance. "Let's go and meet our Fuehrer," Roy said.

But when they were about to leave, they heard a very familiar voice. "There is no need for that," Grumman interrupted.

They saw Fuehrer Grumman enter with his two bodyguards and a slim man with white pompadour haircut. It was Major General Fussen Lech of the southern command, who was given the responsibility of security for the Xing-Amestris meet, which was initially appointed to Roy and Riza. They lost the responsibility primarily because of their mental situation after Oliver's death (The fake Oliver's death).

Everyone in the room stood in attention stance and watching that Grumman told them to relax. Roy looked at Grumman with furrowed eyebrows and asked, "What do you mean Sir?"

"General Lech's unit was tracking some Ishvalans after the warehouse incident. Some of those Ishvalans attacked you while you were with our Xingese guests, and some of them went elsewhere," Grumman replied and then looked at General Lech to continue.

So, Lech continued "My team should have informed you about the attack earlier. My apologies for that."

"Mustang and his team are always prepared for incidents like that," Grumman smirked and then looked at Roy who was still concerned. "So I was saying, the other group of Ishvalans who separated from the ones you captured, have been neutralized," Grumman informed.

Roy and his team were shocked after hearing the news. "But, how? We got news of multiple blasts in the city," Roy asked.

"Yes, we failed to eliminate one of them in time, and the other blast happened during an encounter with one militant," Lech replied.

"That's a relief," Jean said.

"Colonel Armstrong went to the old age home which was destroyed by IFF, and we have also received some information from people saying that they saw the Elric brothers chasing a man in a cloak," Lech informed.

"Those boys," Roy sighed and continued with a smirk on his face, "how do they always get into trouble?"

Meanwhile, Grumman asked, "Well Mustang, I found out that my great-grandson is alive, and you have organized some search parties in the East area to find him. Is that true?"

Roy looked at Grumman and replied, "I apologize for not informing you earlier about that Sir."

"That's okay young man," Grumman smiled and continued, "I am happy enough to find out that Oliver is alive... Now, what about marrying my granddaughter, I assure you she won't leave your unit."

Roy started laughing uncomfortably and Riza was standing at the back, listening to all those conversations which were making her feel uncomfortable, and she couldn't even interrupt them due to their seniority. All her team members were also trying to hold their laugh which she could clearly see but, luck shifted on her side when the phone rang and it disturbed the talk going on between Grumman and Roy.

Fuery picked up the phone and received the message, and as usual, when he hung up, everyone was looking at him, eagerly waiting for some information. "Any good news young man?" Grumman questioned.

Fuery was nervous in front of the Fuehrer, but still, he managed to give a reply. "The Elric brothers have captured an Ishvalan man who is also a human chimera, and Colonel Armstrong is at the location. He will be bringing the man here for further interrogation," Fuery answered.

"Looks like everything is going fine. Now, let us meet the chaos lover, Richard Green," Grumman said and walked toward the door of the interrogation room. And as soon as he entered inside, he found Richard was lying on the floor with his handcuffed. Grumman looked back at Roy and scolded softly, "What are you doing Mustang? You have to control your rage."

Listening to that, Breda quickly went near Richard and straightened up his chair. Richard then looked at Roy and smiled. "You are really quick Mustang, you called the Fuehrer so fast? I have to admit, you are his favorite," Richard said.

Roy didn't react to his response, instead, Grumman responded by saying, "He had no plan to call me, Richard. I came here all by myself to give you a message."

Richard looked at the Fuehrer with narrowed eyes and asked, "What message?"

"Your plan has failed. Your subordinates, who were planning to destroy Central city, have all been eliminated," Grumman replied.

Richard was shocked when he heard that, he was unable to speak for some moment and his forehead was filled with beads of sweat. "It can't be. You are lying," Richard stuttered while looking down with widened eyes.

"It's the truth," Grumman reassured.

Richard couldn't believe that he failed. Now that his leader was missing, many of IFF soldiers were killed by some creature, and his last resort was also not good enough, he felt like all the universe was against him. He lost confidence in himself while everyone else in the room was relaxed after tackling a disastrous incident from happening.


	77. Disappointment (Part 5 - Hall I)

**[Othon, The capital of Drachma]**

It was 9 AM at Othon, but it was still dark because of the long 6 months of night. And every year in the absence of sun, the staff selection exam held at the palace. This year was also no different, as the staff selection test was going on in the palace of Othon. Two of the three tests were over for the selection process, and only one test was left whose judge was Gabriella, the Amestrian spy who had provided details to Maria and Danny at Granny's Cakes. Because the judge was Gabriella this time, Maria was pretty confident that she would get pass the test.

Maria and Jane had become good friends and like the last two tests, they were together in the garden for the announcement of the final test, like the other 28 candidates. And after some time, a man came and notified everyone to go to **Hall I** for the next test within one hour. After getting the notification, everyone went to Hall I before time as they always did, and as expected the Hall was closed. After one hour, the hall opened.

Hall I was not as big as the previous two halls, in fact there wasn't even anything inside the hall. The only thing they could see was Gabriella standing on a small platform wearing her uniform which was a full-sleeved blue shirt and a knee-length skirt with a badge of Chief Maid, and there were two staff beside her. One staff was standing with two opaque small boxes, placed in a stacked manner. Both the boxes had a hole, big enough to let a hand pass through it. One box was colored green while the other box was colored red. Besides that, the other staff was holding a box which was not covered, and it contained some keys, with numbers written on them.

Gabriella was standing on the platform and Jane was excitedly looking at her like a role model. She couldn't control her excitement and said to Maria in a low yet excited voice, "Do you know, Ms. Gabriella Karpin joined as a temporary staff 5 years back, and now she is the Chief maid? Don't you think it's amazing?"

"It definitely is," Maria replied and continued, "But, how come she achieved such a position in so less time?"

"I don't know, but people say that the King trusts her more than any other staff," Jane informed.

"Even more than the Head of staff?" Maria asked with widened eyes.

"Even more than the Head of staff," Jane replied.

Maria then looked back at Gabriella and thought, "that's a pretty impressive feat for a spy."

And in the meantime, Gabriella spoke on the mic. "Welcome everyone to the final test," She said which was followed up by round of applause, after which she continued, "After this test only twenty candidates will remain who will become the temporary staffs of the palace till the King's day," She took a small pause and continued, "In this test, everyone will be given a room key where you will find some guests. All you have to do is to take care of those guests for the whole day. You have to fulfill all their needs whenever and whatever they ask you to. You will receive 10 points for every praise you get and negative 20 points for each complains. Top 20 candidates will be selected on the basis of total points. Understood?" Gabriella asked, but there was silence, so she finished up by saying, "Now let's begin the process."

Soon after her instruction, the staff who was holding the boxes, with holes, walked near Gabriella. He then put the boxes on the small table beside Gabriella and stepped back. "The red box contains some paper chits with the names of the candidates, and the green box contains some paper chits with the room numbers written on them. I will pick a chit each from the red and the green box, and the person whose name is on the chit will be given the room key of the room number which is written on the adjacent chit," Gabriella informed.

Gabriella then moved her hand into the red box and pulled out one chit. Then she read, "Maria Rybak."

Maria registered herself as Maria Rybak in order to hide her true identity. So, when she heard her name, she responded with a yes. Gabriella then moved her hand into the green box and pulled out a chit, and said, "You are allotted to room number 112."

Gabriella made sure that Maria gets the easiest room to serve, so she never told anyone that there were 29 chits in each of the boxes instead of 30. And she hid the thirtieth chit in her sleeves which contained the number of the easiest room to serve and Maria's name. Maria was also expecting some help from Gabriella, and her expectations were met. Maria went to the person who was holding the keys and took the key to room number 112. When she took the key from the staff's hand, the staff smiled and said, "You are lucky."

"Why?" Maria asked.

"That's the room of Ivanov, the Tenth," The staff replied.

"Are you serious?" Maria exclaimed.

"Yes," The staff smiled.

Maria then took the key with a smile on her face and went back to her position. But, deep inside she was nervous after knowing the truth behind the room she was assigned to. In the meantime, the process of allotting the rooms kept going on. Jane also got her key like the other 29 candidates present there.

After some time when everyone was assigned their rooms, all the candidates went to their allotted rooms. Before separating, Jane and Maria wished each other luck and went their own way. In some rooms, the guests were already waiting for their host, while some rooms were locked. There were different kinds of guests in the rooms like there were some rooms filled with children, some with pets, and some with regular kind of guests. When Maria reached room 112, it was already unlocked. When she entered inside, the room was very big like a proper house, but it seemed like no one was there. She went more inside the room and she saw a very old man was sleeping on a comfy bed with a saline bottle connected to his arm through a thin pipe and syringe. She understood that the man was the former king, Ivanov the tenth. She walked near him to have a closer look, but she was startled by a woman's voice. "Are you the one assigned to this room?" The woman asked.

With a panicked face, Maria looked toward the person who was standing at a corner of that room checking out some medicines. It was an old woman in her early sixties, wearing the uniform of a nurse. "Yes, my name is Maria," Maria gulped.

The woman turned around and said, "I am Helen. I look after Ivanov the Tenth," She put the medicines she fetched on the table near her and sighed. And then suddenly, she rushed toward Maria and hugged her. "At last someone came to help me. I get bored in this room, and it gets worse when you have someone who doesn't talk or act," She cried.

On the other side, Jane was assigned to room number 334. When she reached the room, she found out that the room was unlocked. She knocked at the door to check if anyone was inside or not. As soon as she knocked at the door, she heard a man's voice from inside. "Come in," The man said.

Jane entered inside and saw a bald fat man standing at some distance in his bathrobe. She felt uncomfortable upon watching him, and she quickly lowered her head. "I have been assigned to this room, Sir, as a part of the selection test," Jane informed.

"I didn't know I was given a young girl like you to serve me," The man smirked and continued, "what's your name?"

"It's Jane, Sir," Jane replied.

"Where are you from?" The man questioned.

"Flermerova, Sir," Jane answered and continued, "It's a village in the East, Sir."

The man had clearly noticed that Jane was uncomfortable because her head was down and there was hesitance in her voice. "So, Miss Jane of Flermerova. Do you think you are up to the job of serving me?" The man walked slowly toward Jane.

"Yes, Sir," Jane responded with confidence.

"Do you know who I am?" The man asked.

Jane didn't know who he was, so she remained silent instead of saying no. Therefore, the man continued, "Looks like you don't know me. I am the Head of the weapon manufacturing department, and a very close friend of Ivanov the Eleventh," The man put his hands on Jane's shoulder and continued with a grin on his face, "At least you know who that is, right?"

"The King, Sir," Jane replied.

"Wow, you know him!" The man laughed, making Jane more uncomfortable.

While Jane was having a difficult time with her guest, Maria was getting history lessons from Helen in Ivanov, the tenth's room. Helen had already told Maria that she was taking care of the former King from the past 25 years when he got paralyzed for some reason, and gradually went to comatose stage.

"How old is he now?" Maria questioned.

"Eighty-two," Helen answered.

"Then you must have seen him while ruling?" Maria asked.

"Yes," Helen replied with a smile.

"It's a known legend that Ivanov, the tenth was the best king after a very long time. In fact, his rule was considered to be the second golden age, then what happened, Helen? How was he paralyzed?" Maria inquired curiously.

"Because of disappointment, in himself," Helen lowered her head and continued with a sad voice, "Before getting paralyzed, he gave an order to execute a prisoner which he still regrets."

They stopped talking for a moment, then Maria decided to break the silence by saying, "Helen, can I ask you a question?"

Helen looked at Maria and replied with a smile, "Sure."

"I know none of the Kings have any family ties with their predecessors or successors. Then who decides, who is going to be the next King?" Maria asked.

Helen took a deep breath and answered, "There is a committee of individuals who select the next King, but nobody knows how many members are in the committee or who is in it, except the Prime Minister and the Marshal. Those two are the only ones in the country who have the power to reject the King's order."

Maria's assignment was going very smoothly, and all she had to do was to talk to an old lady and lend her a hand. Time passed on, some candidates had difficulty to serve their guests while others had comparatively easy guests to serve. The test was unfair for some candidates, and when those group of candidates opposed to the test, the larger group of candidates supported the test because they had a much greater chance of getting selected like that. So, the test continued and the small group who had difficulty, had to keep up with it. Gradually, the test was over and results were declared in the same way as earlier, which was with the help of a list stuck on a wall. Maria rushed to see the results like all other candidates present there. When she looked at the list, she found herself in the sixth position, which was more than enough to get selected. She searched for Jane on the list and found out that the result had "incomplete and withdrew" written beside her name. She got curious and went to staff standing there. "Sir, what does incomplete and withdrew mean?" She inquired.

"It means the candidate didn't complete the test for some reason, and withdrew her name from the test," The staff informed.

"Why would Jane ever do that?" Maria thought.

Maria was happy that she got selected as one of the temporary staff mostly because there was someone who used some unethical way to make sure that she gets selected, but she was not there to serve the King so it didn't matter to her. Although she felt guilty because she got through the test easily, but Jane, even after trying so hard, was not selected because of an unfair test.


	78. Search (Part 1 - Rooftop Garden)

**[Palace of Othon, Drachma]**

After clearing all the three tests of the staff selection competition, Maria was now among the 20 temporary staff selected. On her first day at work, she was working under Gabriella. She was putting some flowers in the vases on the dining table in the humungous dining hall. The dining hall was on the third floor of the palace and right next to the dining hall, there was a very big and beautiful rooftop garden. Because it was the first time for many staff present there, Gabriella was standing beside the big oval dining table to monitor them. While everyone was focused on their job, suddenly a silver-haired man, wearing a polar bear coat entered the hall and he walked out of the hall, to the rooftop garden without paying any attention to the maids working there.

It was the same person, who saved Maria and Danny at the bar from some hooligans. He was also the same person who was referred to as the King by the Prime Minister and the Marshal of Drachma, but it was quite strange that no one in the hall greeted him, not even the old staff. Because of his sudden arrival, many new staff member got distracted, but none of them had any idea about his identity. Maria on the other hand quickly recognized him, but she was unable to understand what he was doing in the palace. So, out of curiosity, she asked the other lady who was cleaning the dining table standing beside her, "Who was the man who just went by?"

The lady was an old staff member, so to answer Maria's question she stopped cleaning the table and looked at Maria. "That's Mr. Coeus, he is kind of a permanent guest in the palace. He talks very less, but he is a good-hearted man."

"I saw him at a bar, fighting some gangsters alone," Maria informed.

"I have heard he is a good fighter," The lady said and continued, "By the way, if you want to talk to him, you can go to the garden. You will find him having a view of the city…he likes to do that every day."

"Thanks, I think I should go and meet him," Maria smiled.

"I hope you don't have a crush on him. Because if you do, then you will face a ton of competition in the palace," The lady smiled back.

Maria chuckled and went to Gabriella. When Gabriella saw her, she questioned, "What happened?"

"Can I take a break for a few minutes?" Maria asked.

"Okay, but make sure to come back quickly," Gabriella replied

"Yes Ma'am," Maria assured.

Maria and Gabriella were acting as if they didn't know each other. And after getting permission from Gabriella, Maria went to the garden and searched for Coeus. The garden was not looking as lively as it could have appeared in the summers. Still, there were some bushes and thorns and winter flowers, thriving in the harsh season of sunless winter. Maria subtly moved toward the edge of the rooftop and she saw from a distance that Coeus was talking with the head of staff, Yegor Netto. Both of them were having a view of the city while talking, so Maria decided to move close to them and listen to their conversation. She hid behind a big bush wall, where she could clearly listen to the conversation. Because of the absence of sun, it was quite easy for her to stay undetected.

"Sometimes I wish you were our King. The love I see in your eyes for this city is unprecedented," Yegor said.

"I have some of my good memories in this place after all," Coeus replied.

"What exactly are the memories? If you can share with me, it might bring a smile on this old man's face," Yegor smiled.

"Don't worry Yegor, when the time comes, you will get to know far more than those memories," Coeus answered and then shouted, "AND YOU TOO GIRL, YOU CAN COME OUT NOW."

Somehow Coeus had detected Maria, even though he was looking toward the city, and when he called her, she was startled. She slowly moved out of the shadows and stood in front of Coeus and Yegor with a panicked face. Yegor was surprised to see her. "Maria!" Yegor exclaimed and continued with narrowed brows, "What are you doing out here sneaking on us?"

"I came here to thank Mr. Coeus," Maria stuttered.

"Thank me? For what?" Coeus asked with his usual blank face.

"Did you forget saving me at the bar from the gangsters?" Maria looked at Coeus with widened eyes.

"What gangsters?" Yegor asked curiously.

Maria looked at Yegor, and explained, "After I met you that day, I went to the bar to have some drinks with my friends. There I got into trouble with some gangsters, but fortunately, Mr. Coeus was there and he fought the entire gang in that bar and left the bar before I could thank him. When I saw him passing through the dining hall, I followed him just to thank, but I found him talking to you and I didn't want to interrupt you two."

Yegor looked at Coeus and shouted with widened eyes, "You fought an entire gang!"

By the time, Coeus had also remembered his encounter with the gangsters. "Those were only petty street thugs," Coeus replied.

"And you are a superhuman," Yegor poked Coeus on the chest, but Coeus didn't react. He was not comfortable during moments like that, so he decided to leave.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go somewhere," Coeus said.

He left after saying that and no one stopped him. While he was leaving, he saw Sieglaff, the Drachmann Prime Minister, was standing at some distance outside the gate of a building, which was guarded by two Drachmann soldiers. Sieglaff then moved inside the building, and when Coeus reached near the building, he went inside as well, and none of the guards stopped him. There was a big hall inside the building which was closed from all sides and there was a staircase to the upper floor, but there was no one present in the hall. However, Coeus was not surprised by the vacant hall. He took the staircase and went to the upper floor. There was only a single door on the upper floor, and Coeus opened it and went inside.

Prime Minister Sieglaff and Marshal Clifton were standing beside the oval table present there. It was the same room where they were once reporting about the death of King Bradley to Coeus. As soon as Coeus reached closer to the table, Sieglaff and Clifton bowed their head and addressed Coeus as, "My King."

Coeus took the head chair seat, and after he sat, Sieglaff and Clifton sat as well. "How is everything progressing?" Coeus asked.

"Everything is going according to the plan. Our elite forces have been sent to the eastern as well as the western borders of Drachma. The eastern force will get into Amestris via the Great Desert and the western force will take the route through Creta," Clifton replied.

"How much time will it take them to get into Amestris?" Coeus questioned.

"Twenty to twenty-five days," Clifton answered.

"Hmmm…what about Lab C? When are they reaching Othon?" Coeus asked.

"In two days," Clifton replied.

"Few more days, to the dawn of a new era," Coeus said, which was followed by a smile of Clifton and Sieglaff.


	79. Search (Part 2 - Marinov)

While Maria successfully penetrated into the palace as a staff member, Boris and Danny were collecting information outside the city, and after some days, they found a lead. They were wandering at the outskirt of the city in a slum area. It was the dark side of a prosperous city, where drunk people were lying beside the drain and where the children were fighting over the leftover brought from the palace and big restaurants of the city. The place was very dirty, the clothes which the people were wearing were dirty, and the houses were small and broken.

The path in the slum was narrow and filled with mud and leaked drain water. However, there were few bricks lying on the path to move safely without stepping on the filthy water. While walking carefully on the bricks, Boris said, "Equality my friend, is just a myth. I have traveled across many parts of the world, and each corner of my country, but there are always rich and poor, powerful and weak. It's sad, but that's how balance is maintained." Boris then continued after a small pause, "These places are the factory for producing soldiers for the Drachmann military. In Othon itself, there are 3 slum areas like this, and every year some children are taken from these places to be trained as soldiers."

"Don't the people of Drachma know about it?" Danny asked.

"They know," Boris replied.

"Then why no one stands against the government," Danny questioned.

"Look at your surroundings," Boris said while looking at the drunk people lying unconscious in drain water and continued, "These are the parents who only know how to reproduce, and when the children seek for nourishment, they treat them as if their own children are a burden to them. Because of this, no one questions the government for their actions. At least the children are getting enough food, education and a shelter to live."

"But it sounds quite a wrong way of strengthening the military," Danny commented.

"It's the most effective way to make a person loyal to you. It's easy to mold a child the way you want to, rather than train an adult to be loyal," Boris stopped walking after finishing his sentence and looked ahead, and watching him, Danny stopped as well.

"What happened?" Danny asked and looked ahead. He saw a very old man, probably in his eighties, was sitting alone, outside a small unmaintained house, which seemed like his house. The old man was wearing a very dirty jacket and was smoking a pipe.

"Is that the person we were looking for?" Danny inquired.

"Yes, this person may be our last hope in uncovering the truth about the chimera experiment conducted by the military," Boris informed.

Boris and Danny slowly approached the old man, by stepping on the bricks. And when they reached near him, Boris greeted the man by saying, "Hello Sir."

The man looked at both of them with narrowed eyes and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Boris," Boris pointed toward Danny and continued, "and this is friend Danny. We came here looking for you, Mr. Marinov."

Marinov chuckled and said, "It has been a very long time since I heard someone call me with such respect."

"We need some answers," Boris said.

"What answers?" Marinov asked.

"Were you involved in the job of selecting children for the military?" Boris questioned.

Marinov took a sip from his pipe and exhaled. "I did it so that the children could get a better future. Yes, money was one of the reasons, but it's not like I did anything wrong. Moreover, the children were never forced to join the military," Marinov answered.

"I am not accusing you of any crime, Mr. Marinov. I don't have any problem that you helped those children to get better life from these slums," Boris said and continued, "But, we would like to know, if everything was going fine, then how did you end up here?"

Marinov didn't speak for some moment. He stood up with his weak legs and a bent spine. Then he slowly walked inside his house. Watching that, Boris and Danny thought they lost the only lead they had. While they were disappointed, they heard the old man's voice saying, "Aren't you boys coming in?"

As soon as they received the invitation, they quickly went inside. And when they were inside, Marinov lighted up a lantern and ordered, "Close the door."

Danny closed the door and went back to stand beside Boris. Meanwhile, Marinov asked, "Do you need water?"

"It's fine Mr. Marinov," Boris replied.

"As you wish," Marinov smiled and walked toward the only wooden chair inside the house, and sat on it. "Make yourself comfortable," Marinov said.

Boris and Danny couldn't find anything there except a mattress lying on the floor. So, they dragged the mattress a little close to Marinov and sat on it. "Did you close the door properly?" Marinov inquired.

"Yes," Danny informed.

"There are somethings which I don't like to speak out in public," Marinov said while putting some tobacco inside his smoking pipe.

"It's okay Mr. Marinov," Danny responded.

Marinov then lit his pipe and continued after taking a sip, "So, you want to know why I ended up here. Now listen carefully because whatever I am going to tell you is not a fairy tale, it's the truth which is somewhat hard to believe."

Boris and Danny carefully looked at the old man, while he began with his old deep voice, "When I was in my late twenties, I was struggling to find a good job so that I could settle down by marrying a beautiful girl. And one day, I was contacted by the military. I met some of the officials and they offered me a job which was to search for children in slums and hand them over to the military. Initially, I was reluctant to do the job because it seemed very unethical, but then I saw some children who were from the slums and were having a better life with the military. Therefore, I agreed to take the job offer. Many years passed on, I was getting children for the military from various part of the country. I was also happy because I never had to force a child to get into military. I only had to ask them whether they want to eat something good, sleep somewhere comfortable, and it was all to get them excited to join the military. But, there was one mistake I did, I never went to meet the children whom I sent to the military. Then once I rescued a 12-year-old girl from some human traffickers in the eastern border of Drachma. I spent quite some time with that girl after that incident, and she became like a daughter to me in that period. I forgot to marry and settle down because of my job, quite a contradiction of my expectation," He chuckled and continued, "But it was different when I left her with the military like the other children I brought with me. I felt like I lost something precious. And because of that anxiousness, I went to meet her at the JMA (Junior Military Academy) in Othon after few months, but she was not there. I inquired about her in the military, but there was no record of her ever being in the academy. I searched for her a lot, and came to know about some creatures and people in military who could transform into something…inhuman. I tried to find out about the creatures, which were called chimeras and were being created using alchemy." Marinov then looked at Boris and Danny and said, "You may think, I am making all this up to hide my failures, but let me tell you…It's all true."

"We believe you, Sir. In fact we have encountered chimeras ourselves," Danny informed.

Marinov was surprised. He stopped smoking and looked at Danny with widened eyes. "But how? I thought the military was hiding those things," Marinov asked.

"The chimeras are slowly coming out of the shadows. We encountered a chimera back at Selonova village," Boris replied.

"So, you are well aware of the military's wrongdoings which have been carried out for many years?" Marinov questioned.

"Yes, and that's why we came here to know about the alchemists in Drachma and the truth about Lab C," Boris answered.

"You know about Lab C!" Marinov exclaimed.

"Yes, we got some proves that the chimeras are being created in Lab C which is somewhere in Othon," Danny informed.

"You are correct about Lab C being the place where chimeras are created, but it's not necessary that it will be in Othon," Marinov said and continued, "It can be anywhere."

"What do you mean it can be anywhere?" Danny looked at Marinov with widened eyes. Even Boris was surprised.

"Lab C is not a place. It is a group of alchemists who perform alchemy to create chimeras. They generally go to different military establishments to do their job, which often includes jails. They have been doing this for decades and nobody knows about it. When I found one of the alchemists of Lab C, I tried to follow him, but eventually the military somehow found about that and captured me. They didn't kill me because some superior ordered them not to do so. Therefore, they took everything from me and put me in a mental asylum where I spent rest of my life. Finally after so many years, they dumped me here to die," Marinov replied.

"When were you released from the asylum?" Boris asked.

"A few months back," Marinov answered.

"That's why I never came across you," Boris said.

"The military never let people like me stay alive because of the information I have. But, they let me go as if they don't care about that information anymore," Marinov informed.

"Boris, don't you think if this man knows such sensitive information then the military might have put him in surveillance?" Danny gulped.

"You are right, but if there were militaries around here, we would have been captured or killed by now," Boris responded calmly and continued, "Mr. Marinov, can you tell us how can we find Lab C?"

"Wait," Marinov said and stood up. Then he slowly moved toward his dusty bookshelf and picked up a thick book with green cover on it. He brought the book and sat back on his chair. Meanwhile, Boris and Danny were curiously looking at the old man. And their curiosity was well awarded when Marinov opened the book and pulled out a folded piece of blue paper and handed it over to Boris.

Boris unfolded the blue paper and found out that it was some kind of blueprint. Meanwhile, Marinov said, "This is the blueprint of the Military Headquarters and the Junior Military Academy. Both are situated beside each other. I got this blueprint from a person named Boris Bolotov, who led a group that rescued children from the Lab C experiments."

As soon as Boris and Danny heard the name Boris Bolotov, both of them shockingly looked at Marinov. So, Marinov asked, "What happened?"

"We learned about Boris Bolotov in Selonova from a woman named Viola. She told us that he hid there by a different name with a boy. And coincidentally, this Boris guy shares exactly the same name with my friend here," Danny replied.

Marinov carefully looked at Boris and said, "You don't look like him. In fact, you don't even look as if you could be related to him. Maybe it's just a coincidence."

"Can you please tell us something more about Lab C?" Danny requested.

Marinov took a sip from his pipe and answered, "Some of the children who are admitted into the military are given an option to lead the life of a normal soldier or choose the program of Lab C, where they could get more power and more money. As you know, under Lab C, people are turned to chimeras, but due to the desire of living a better life, most children give up to that. However, there are some failures in the experiment where the subjects were turned into some kind of abominations. When Boris learned about this, he brought together some people working in the military like him and me, who could help the children to lead a free life away from the lies of the military."

"Do you know what happened to Boris?" Danny asked.

"No," Marinov replied.

After learning many new things, both Boris and Danny stood up. "Thank you, Mr. Marinov, for your help," Boris said.

"Be careful boys. If you are trying to get inside the military headquarters, then remember, the place is lurking with human chimeras. They can see you in the dark and smell you from far away. They can hear your footsteps like a beast and most importantly, they can shred you into pieces. We didn't know that, and we were caught because of our mistakes," Marinov warned with a grim face.

Meanwhile, Boris nodded and Danny gulped. Then they both left his house with the blueprints to plan to get into JMA and find Lab C.


	80. Search (Part 3 - The Four Fables)

**[1913, Central City]**

It was 7 PM, and Roy was standing in front of someone's door with a bouquet of flowers, in his casual clothes. He knocked at the door, and within a few seconds, the door opened. The person who opened the door was none other than his best buddy, Maes Hughes, and there was a big smile on Maes' face. Even after Maes saw Roy right in front of him, he still looked outside on either side of his door. Looking at Maes' unusual yet expected behavior, Roy said, "Aren't you going to let me in?"

Maes stood up properly and looked at Roy. "I was expecting somebody else as well," Maes answered.

"Who?" Roy asked.

"You know who, don't act stupid. You come to Central once in a while, and even though she is with you, you never bring her," Maes' scolded.

Roy sighed and replied, "Can you first let me in? I will explain."

Roy then gave the bouquet to Maes because he couldn't see Gracia or Elicia, and he entered inside. As soon as he stepped inside, Maes mocked while closing the door, "You call yourself the ladies' man, but you couldn't even persuade her to come here," and he shook his head while saying, "What a fake title."

Roy sat on the sofa at the hall and said, "You know how stubborn she is."

After closing the door, Maes put the bouquet on the small table in front of the sofa and instead of sitting with his friend, Maes started looking for something. Meanwhile, Roy asked, "Where are Gracia and Elicia?"

Maes didn't reply to Roy's question, as he was attentively searching for something. And watching his friend unsettled, Roy looked inquired, "What are you searching Maes? Tell me, and I might help you."

Maes still didn't reply to him, and he walked behind the sofa where Roy was sitting. Then Roy heard Maes saying affectionately, "Here you are."

Roy turned around and saw Maes pick up Elicia from behind the sofa. Roy was looking at his friend carrying his daughter in his arms and smiling with pure love oozing out from his heart. Maes then moved around the sofa with his daughter in his arms and sat on the sofa chair present beside the sofa. He looked toward Roy who was looking at him with a big smile. "Gracia has gone to her friend's home, so it's just me and my beautiful daughter at the moment, serving you tonight," Maes informed.

"I see," Roy acknowledged.

"How is Oliver?" Maes asked.

Roy took a deep breath and leaned back his head on the sofa. "He is fine, but his interest in alchemy worries me sometimes. I have heard many times from the caretaker that he spends most of the time reading alchemy books, instead of playing like the other children in the orphanage," Roy replied.

Meanwhile, Elicia was trying to break free from her father's arm in order to reach the bouquet put on the small table in front of them. So, to make her happy, Maes pulled out a marigold flower from the bouquet and handed it to her daughter. As soon as Elicia held the flower, she started plucking the huge number of petals one by one, slowly and steadily.

Now that Elicia was occupied, Maes looked at Roy and said, "Oliver is a smart boy… Maybe he is smarter than you," and he smiled.

Roy sat properly and smiled back at his friend. "Far smarter, Maes, and I am proud of him," he said.

Both the friends had happily embraced their newfound responsibility as a father. But, one could see his daughter's smile every morning he woke up, while the other one couldn't even hear his son's cries.

"Look at my daughter, isn't she a cutie?" Maes said with an awed face.

"You have told me that a millionth time now Maes," Roy replied.

"And she is still the cutest thing ever, isn't she?" Maes questioned while looking at his daughter with adoration.

"Yes, she is," Roy answered.

And then suddenly Maes looked at Roy very seriously, which made Roy startle faintly. "Roy, I want to give you a favor in advance, just because you are my best friend," Maes put his free hand on Roy's shoulder.

"Favor!" Roy exclaimed.

"Yes," Maes replied and continued, "In future, if your son falls for my little sweetheart, then I have no objection for their marriage. She will be wearing a white bridal dress that will be the most beautiful dress in the entire Amestris, and you will be…"

But, before he could continue anymore, Roy shouted, "MAAAEEESSS."

Roy's shout definitely helped him to stop Maes, but it also startled Elicia and she dropped the marigold flower in her hand. Roy looked at her and realized that he made a mistake, but before he could do anything, Elicia started crying. Maes quickly held her with both his arms and lulled her. And within a few seconds, Elicia calmed down. "Sorry, I didn't mean to," Roy apologized.

"It's okay," Maes put Elicia on the floor with some toys and continued, "by the way, I got some information about your Master's book."

"What information?" Roy looked at Maes with widened eyes.

"Berthold Hawkeye wrote a total of 3 books on record which the Amestrian military seized from his home long ago," Maes replied.

"Yes, that was before I was his student," Roy informed.

"You also mentioned about the fourth book that Riza gave you after your Master's death," Maes said.

"That's true," Roy confirmed.

"The names of the other three books were, **'The Wizard',** which was the first book written by Berthold Hawkeye. The second one he wrote was, **'The Fairy'** , and the third one was titled **'The Princess'**. Seems like your Master liked to write fables," Maes apprised.

"He was a great alchemist, Maes. Everything he did had a reason behind it. **'The Knight'** was his final book, and he gave it to me. The book must be hiding some alchemical secrets, but I am unable to decode it till now," Roy said.

"Maybe he wanted you to start from the beginning to understand the end. That's why you are unable to decode it," Maes replied, and as soon as he completed his sentence, Roy looked at him and smirked.

"What?" Maes asked.

"Seems like you have a brain after all," Roy answered, but before Maes could brag about himself, Roy inquired, "Now, tell me where the books are?"

"That's the issue. I could only find the records of the book in the central library, but they went missing a few years back," Maes informed.

"Missing?" Roy looked at Maes with narrowed eyes.

"Yes," Maes replied.

"But, how?" Roy asked.

"It seems like someone else is also interested in those books. But, as long as you have the final piece of the puzzle, that someone won't be able to solve it," Maes answered.

"And neither can I," Roy added.

Roy took a deep breath and leaned back on the sofa. "I think I should go to Madam Christmas' now," He said.

"You are having dinner here, you dumb idiot," Maes scolded.

"Fine, I will stay for dinner. But, don't expect me to stay much longer. I have a train to catch tomorrow," Roy informed.

"You have your Lieutenant to wake you," Maes grinned and continued, "Well, how does she wake you? Does she give you a morning smooch or you two directly get into some kinky stuff?"

"Stop it, Maes, your daughter is here," Roy proposed politely.

"Don't worry, she is busy playing with flowers and toys. And anyways she won't understand a thing," Maes replied.

Maes then kept on asking his friend a lot of personal stuff, he even made theories on why Riza suddenly started growing her hair. He was so persistent that Roy had to finally give up and he started sharing some stories with his best friend. Gradually Roy became comfortable talking about his past. He even described his intimate moments with Riza to his friend, and they laughed at some instances which were funny. Sometime later Gracia was home, but even during the dinner, the topic of discussion was Riza and his relationship. Gracia also knew about Roy's and Riza's past, but like her husband, she never spilled the secrets out in the public or talked it with anyone other than Maes, Roy, and Riza. And while talking, Roy lost the track of time and slept at his friend's home.

While he was closing his eyes with a big smile on his face, he heard a bark, and the barking was getting more frequent and sharp. He opened his eyes and saw Hayate was standing in front of him, wagging his tail, while he was taking a nap under a tree at the Central Command during noontime. He felt a bit sad when he woke up, because his best friend, was only in his memories. Then he saw Hayate's face, wagging his tail and sticking out his tongue to get attention. That small thing reminded him that he was not alone. He had also Riza, Oliver and many more important people in his life.

Roy smiled and called Hayate by saying, "Come here boy," and petted him.

In the meantime, he heard a very masculine voice. "Good afternoon General Mustang," Alex greeted.

Roy raised his head and found Colonel Alex Armstrong, the strong arm alchemist was walking toward him. "Good afternoon Colonel," Roy reciprocated.

Alex stood right in front of Roy like a big tree, and said, "Looks like you are also exhausted from the paperwork."

"Yes," Roy replied.

"After becoming Colonel, I am also surrounded by lots of paperwork," Alex said.

"I know, paper works are boring, but with greater responsibilities comes more paperwork," Roy smiled.

"True," Alex responded.

"So, what happened last night?" Roy asked and continued, "I heard that the Elric brothers caught the Ishvalan human chimera."

"Yes, but I reached there after the fight and missed all the actions. Still, I saw the weapon that Ed used during the fight," Alex answered.

"Weapon?" Roy stopped petting Hayate and looked at Alex with furrowed brows.

"He was using an exoskeleton on his arms," Alex informed.

"I thought it was only used by a few people in the military. Where did he get that kind of equipment?" Roy inquired.

"Winry," Alex answered.

"Of course," Roy said and continued, "Who else it can be? Looks like with age my deduction ability is weakening."

"There is one message that Ed wanted me to relay to you," Alex informed.

"He could have come by himself to deliver the message," Roy stood up and shrugged off the dust on his uniform.

"They left for Rush Valley this morning due to damage sustained by the automail during the fight," Alex said.

"Alright….so, what was the message?" Roy asked.

"Ed bought a book from a pawn shop by the title, 'The Knight'. He told me that it has a brown cover with BH written over it," Alex replied.

"WHAT! HOW THE HELL THAT BOOK WAS IN A PAWN SHOP?" Roy shouted.

Alex was surprised at first by Roy's reaction. "Didn't you sell it?" Alex inquired.

"I lost that book a few weeks back," Roy informed and continued, "Where is it now?"

"Ammm…Ed took it," Alex said hesitantly.

"He took it?" Roy looked at Alex with narrowed eyes and continued, "That pipsqueak took my book, and the only thing he did was to send a message through you?"

"Anyways he will be coming back, Sir. At least now you know where your book is," Alex said.

Roy calmed down and breathed a sigh of relief. "I think you are right," Roy responded.

"I should go now, otherwise my paperwork won't be over," Alex had a fake smile.

"Yeah, I should also finish my break now. Thank you for delivering the message Colonel," Roy extended his right arm for a handshake.

"It's my pleasure, Sir," Alex handshaked and then saluted before leaving the place.


	81. Search (Part 4 - The Hotel)

It was 6 PM in the evening, and Roy was finished up with his paperwork. But, even after that, he had a prior appointment with the guests from Xing. So to visit them, Roy and Riza went to the hotel where the Xingese guests were staying.

They were in their car where Roy and Riza were sitting at the back seat and two soldiers were sitting at the front seat. There was small glass window in between the front seat and back seat, just because Roy had the privileges of a General now. Because Roy and Riza now had a little bit of privacy, Roy asked, "How is the search going on?"

"Search operation in the East city and its nearby area is over. From tomorrow onward, the search team will be operating in the smaller towns. I have ordered them to search in my hometown first," Riza replied and then continued after a small pause, "I don't know why, but I have a feeling that Oli will be there."

Roy held her hand to give her some assurance and said, "Don't worry, we will find him."

Riza looked at Roy and smiled. They were sitting very close to each other, and Riza was looking into Roy's eyes with a smile. Roy felt like the young Roy falling in love again in those amber eyes. He approached Riza as if he had no control of his body at that moment. He was about to kiss her, but before he could come any closer, Riza cleared her throat and Roy snapped out of his uncontrolled actions. Roy quickly sat properly and started looking out of the window on his side. "Ed found Master's book," Roy informed.

"The one you lost?" Riza asked.

"Of course, how many master's books do I have?" Roy replied.

"A few years back, I heard from General Hughes that you were searching for the other three books as well," Riza said.

"Yes, but I gave up the search long ago. After all, there are more important things than those books," Roy clarified.

And in the meantime, the car stopped. They had reached the hotel where the Xingese guests were staying. Roy and Riza got out of the vehicle and went inside the hotel while the other two soldiers stayed in the car. They went to the room where the guests were staying which was on the second floor of that building. There were 2 Amestrian soldiers guarding at the front door of that room. When the soldiers saw Roy and Riza, they saluted them. Roy nodded to acknowledge and then pressed the doorbell. They waited for some time to open the door, but there was no response, not even the maid who was allotted to serve the Xingese guests opened it.

Roy pressed the doorbell and knocked at the door multiple times, but there was no response. So, Roy looked at the two soldiers who were guarding the room. "Did they leave for somewhere?" Roy asked.

"No Sir. We haven't moved from our positions, and we didn't see anyone coming out of the room," One soldier replied.

Roy got angry and pulled out his ignition gloves from his shirt's lower pocket, and put them on. Watching that, the two soldiers gulped out of fear. They thought Roy was going to burn them, but they were confused about why Riza was standing so calm and not trying to stop the General.

Roy snapped and both the soldiers closed their eyes, but when they didn't feel any burn, they opened their eyes and found out that the door was no more there. In fact, Roy and Riza were also not present there. So, they looked inside the room and saw Roy and Riza were inside the huge room to figure out what was happening. Roy was ready with his gloves on while Riza had pulled out her handgun. The other two soldiers also followed them inside with their rifles ready.

The room was pretty clean and everything was in place, but there was no noise or any kind of sound as well which could give them any hint that someone was in the room. Roy looked at the soldiers, and ordered, "You two, go left and check if someone is there."

Both the soldier went to the left side of the huge room which was a big bedroom with an attached bathroom. There were a total of three bedrooms like that in the room which had attached bathrooms. Roy and Riza went to the bedroom on the right side. Both the parties searched the rooms thoroughly but they were unable to find a single person. It was as if they vanished somewhere.

Roy and Riza then proceeded toward the final bedroom. Both were on guard to face any incoming danger. They were taking each step with caution and paying very close attention to their surroundings. But, even that room was abnormally silent and everything in that room was in place. They searched the whole room and were about to have a look into the bathroom whose door was closed. And then suddenly they heard some sound from inside the bathroom. Riza quickly pointed her gun toward the bathroom door. The door to the bathroom then slowly opened.

They were expecting someone unknown coming out of the bathroom, but it was Hu Zemin, the political advisor of Ling. He came out of the bathroom as if he woke up just a few moments ago. When he saw Riza pointing her gun at him and Roy raising his hand to snap, he was startled and raised his hands.

Roy looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Mr. Zemin!" He exclaimed.

"Yes?" Hu smiled with a scarred face.

Roy and Riza calmed down and lowered their weapons. And after everything was under control, Roy and Hu sat on the sofa in the hall. "Where did everyone go?" Roy inquired.

Hu sighed and answered, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? Everyone from Xing disappeared somewhere and you are telling me you don't know?" Roy shouted.

"They drugged me Mr. Mustang….and put me in the bathroom. When I woke up I found this letter next to me," Hu handed over the letter to Roy. When Roy opened it, he saw the letter was written in Xingese language, and no Amestrian present there could read Xingese.

"What is written in this letter?" Roy asked

"It's an apology for drugging me. They have also written not to worry about their whereabout, and that they are fine," Hu replied.

Roy still had some suspicion over Hu, so he put the letter in his pocket to verify whether Hu told him the truth or not. Then he questioned, "Are the Yin-Yang twins also with Ling?"

"May be," Hu answered.

Roy and Riza then stood up and took Hu to Central command in order to ask him some more questions.

Meanwhile somewhere in a passenger train going to the Eastern Area, Ling, Lan Fan, and the Yin-Yang twins were in one of the compartments. "I can't believe you drugged Hu," Ling looked at Yin and laughed out loud.

"I thought he will pose a problem if we tell him where we are going," Yin replied calmly.

"Yeah, even I don't like him. He is kind of boring… by the way, If whatever you said is true, then Krid Novak will not try to hurt us," Ling said.

"But my brother here will try his luck again," Yin sighed.

"This time I am stronger than ever," Yang intervened.

"You told me that the last time, and what did you return with? A scar on your eye?" Yin mocked.

Ling placed his hand on Yang's shoulder and said, "Don't worry Yang, you are not alone this time. Although I am not going to help you kill him."

"I don't need your help," Yang gently removed Ling's hand from his shoulder.

"Why are we even going there? I mean what if we get into unnecessary trouble, and the emperor finds about it. He might punish us," Lan Fan said.

Everyone looked at Lan Fan for a moment with narrowed eyes, then they ignored whatever she said and again started discussing. Looking at that, Lan Fan sighed out of frustration and sat on her seat looking out of the window.


	82. Fugitive (Part 1 - The Key)

**[Othon –Capital of Drachma]**

Like every day, or we can say every night, there was no sun in the sky of Othon, but there was a full moon shining in the sky, trying to fill the absence of the sun. Tracking time without a watch was difficult for people, especially for them who were visiting Othon for the first time. Danny and Boris were wandering at a place which was kind of a dumping ground of the city. There was garbage, and a dirty wide water channel was flowing beside the garbage. The water in the water channel was a maximum of 5 feet deep, and there was a forest on the other side of the channel. There was also a 10-12 feet wide bridge over the channel which connected the city to the forest, but it was rarely ever used by the people.

Danny and Boris were walking below the bridge and just beside the water channel which was used as a dumping ground. "Are you sure this place was safe to hide Toby?" asked Danny.

"People rarely come to this place, only the dumping truck and few people to burn off the garbage come here," replied Boris.

They were walking ahead in order to look for Toby (Pet bear of Boris) when they suddenly heard someone cry. Both of them were startled because they were not expecting any other human being to be present there.

"What did you just say? No human? Then who is crying?" Danny whispered angrily.

"I don't know," answered Boris.

Both of them cautiously moved ahead to find out the mystery behind the cry. "Have you heard the stories of the Banshees who lure people by making human sounds as if someone is in need of help?" asked Danny while he was shivering.

"Did your seniors sent you here, even after knowing how stupid you are?" insulted Boris.

Danny didn't reply to the insult, and quietly followed Boris to find the source of the sound. Soon they found out a woman sitting at some distance crying out loud.

 _Damn it, it's definitely a Banshee_ , thought Danny

Boris went closer to the woman while Danny stood at his position like a statue. He was telling Boris in a very soft voice to not to go near the woman, but his voice was not reaching into Boris' ears. The woman was also so occupied with her crying that she didn't even notice Boris slowly approaching her.

When Boris was close enough, he said, "Excuse me, Miss."

When the woman suddenly heard a man's voice, she was startled and looked at Boris with a panicked face. Watching the woman's reaction from a distance, Danny was also startled. The woman was Jane (Maria's friend who was eliminated at the final test of staff selection), but because it was the first interaction between them, Boris and Danny had no clue who she was, and neither Jane had any idea about their identity.

"Who are you?" asked Jane with a trembling voice.

Boris could clearly see that she was afraid, and she was half-drunk as well. He could see a liquor bottle lying beside her. And an ample amount of alcohol was pouring out of it.

"Your alcohol is leaking out," Boris pointed at the bottle.

Jane quickly picked up the bottle. She then took a deep breathe to calm down. In the meantime, Danny also came close when he was convinced that she was not a Banshee. "Why are you crying? And that also in a place which is so isolated of all?" asked Boris.

Jane lowered her head and replied with a little hesitation in her voice, "How can this be isolated when two men are here?"

"This place is not safe Miss, you should not come here," said Boris.

"No place is safe for a woman when evil men are ruling this country," Jane sobbed.

"If you need any help, we can try, you know," Danny interrupted.

Jane stopped crying when she heard those assuring words. "I don't know," she said.

Boris sighed to calm down, he was not expecting to find a depressed woman at such an isolated location. Meanwhile, the person who was initially theorizing about Banshee, went closer to Jane and sat beside her. "You can tell me what happened to ease your pain. We are strangers to each other, and there is no one else around here. Everything you speak here will remain here. So, you don't need to worry," Danny smiled, and watching his actions, Boris' eyes were widened.

Jane didn't speak for some time. She was gazing at the reflection of the full moon on the water flowing in the channel. After some time, she calmed down and began. "From years I was preparing for the Staff selection test, and this year I was selected to appear for the main test at the palace. I was first in the first two rounds of the test, but the third test was very unfair. We were allotted to different guest rooms based on the lottery system, and unfortunately, I got a room where the head of the weapon manufacturing department was staying. I was dependent on him to give me some praise for my service and no complain if possible in order to pass the round. But, that man turned out to be a pervert…He was in his bathrobe and went inside the bathroom. Then he called me inside and asked me to," she paused and gulped. "-and asked me to rub his back…while he was sitting naked, facing his back to me," she cried and continued, "In order to pass the round, I rubbed his back. He told me to do a lot of uncomfortable things like massaging him while he was lying naked on the bed, feeding grapes to him, dance for him and so on, all of which I did. But then, he asked me to… get naked in front of him… which was something I couldn't do. He threatened me that if I wouldn't do whatever he tells me to do, then he would make sure, I don't pass the test. I was in a dilemma, and finally, I decided to keep my integrity. So, I withdrew from the test."

"You did great," Danny supported.

"But, before leaving that fat bastard's room, I stole his knapsack in which he kept his gold rings and chains," added Jane.

"Seems like you took your revenge," said Danny.

Jane wiped out her tears and said, "If you think I used the rings and chains for my own benefit, then let me tell you, I gave them to people living in the slum."

Danny and Boris knew that Maria was also appearing for the Staff selection test. So, out of curiosity Boris asked, "Do you happen to know someone by the name Maria? She is a friend of ours and she was also appearing for the same test you were appearing."

"WHAT!" Jane exclaimed while looking at Boris with widened eyes and suddenly, she was filled with energy. "You know Maria?" She asked.

"Yes," Boris replied.

Jane quickly stood up, but while standing up, a small knapsack fell on the ground. Danny noticed the knapsack and picked it up. "Hey, your knapsack," Danny extended his hand while holding the knapsack.

Jane took the knapsack and informed, "It isn't mine by the way. It belongs to that fat bastard" She finished off with disgust in her voice.

"May I have a look at it?" requested Boris.

"Sure," replied Jane and offered it to Boris.

Then she introduced herself and informed them about how she met Maria. She shared the stories of the test she appeared with Maria. Boris was listening to Jane, but unlike Danny, he was also going through the items in the knapsack. The knapsack was almost empty except a steel key which was inside with some logo on it and a very uncommon pattern. When Boris saw that key, he couldn't wait but ask Jane, "Jane, did this key also belonged to that person?"

Jane looked at the key very carefully, and then replied, "I think so. I didn't have a look in the knapsack while I was taking it."

Boris smiled after listening to her reply. "Do you have any idea what have you done?" questioned Boris.

Jane gulped. She was scared after listening to the way Boris spoke. Meanwhile, Boris continued, "This key is most likely the key to the vault which contains all the blueprint and plans of every weaponry that the Drachmann government has developed and is going to develop. Most likely, even the head of the weapon manufacturing department has no idea about some of these weapons, and you stole it. The military must have found out by now that you stole the key. Maybe when they will find you, they will first take the key from you, and then torture you for some more information…or they might kill you."

Jane was getting more and more scared, and suddenly, they heard some footsteps walking under the bridge where there was shallow water, where the place was pitch black due to the shadow of the bridge. Everyone looked toward the bridge and saw two glowing eyes of a large animal that was crossing the water channel. Jane was now shivering from fear after watching the animal approaching them, but Boris and Danny were smiling in that situation looking toward the beast. Soon the animal crossed the water channel and got out of the shadows. And as expected by Danny and Boris, it was none other than Toby. When Jane saw Toby's huge size, she was petrified. And when Toby started running toward them, Jane quickly turned around and ran. After running some distance, she realized that Boris and Danny were not running. When she turned around, she saw the bear was hugging Boris very affectionately. After Toby stopped hugging his master, Boris turned around and looked at Jane who was confused and scared.

"Jane, meet Toby, my best friend," Boris smiled while Toby roared.

It took some time for Jane to understand that Toby was not going to harm her, still, when they were having a conversation, Jane was sitting few meters away from Toby who was sitting just beside Boris.

"What should I do now?" asked Jane.

"You should better hide somewhere now that you are a fugitive," replied Boris.

"Hide?" Jane gulped.

"I can help you with that, if you promise you won't tell anyone about any of us, including Toby," said Boris.

Jane on the other side, replied without thinking for a moment, "I promise."

"Also, if you won't mind, I will be keeping this key," Boris smiled.


	83. Character Rewind

**[Mustang-Hawkeye Family]**

 **Roy Mustang-** AKA the Flame Alchemist. He is now promoted to the rank of Major General and currently serving at Central Command, directly under Fuehrer Grumman.

 **Riza Hawkeye-** The uncanny sniper in Roy's unit. She is now a Major, but she has not left her position as the primary bodyguard and personal assistant of Roy. And it should be clear by now that she is Roy's love of life.

 **Oliver Mustang-** He is the son of Roy and Riza. Unlike any normal 9-year old, he is a prodigy who has the grasp of both alchemy and alkahestry. He is also hiding some mysteries, which he himself is unaware of as of now.

 **Chris Mustang-** She is Roy's paternal aunt, and also serves as a spy for Grumman while running a hostess bar in Central city.

 **Grumman-** After the death of King Bradley, he is the current Fuehrer of Amestris.He is also Riza's maternal grandfather.

 **Berthold Hawkeye-** He is the father of Riza Hawkeye and the person who perfected flame alchemy.

 **Elizabeth Hawkeye-** She is Riza's mother who married Berthold even after her father's disapproval. She died because of some unidentifiable disease when Riza was just 5 years old.

 **Matilda Becker-** She was Riza's caretaker, from her childhood till the time when Riza became a mother. Later, she took care of Oliver when Riza left for training at the military camp. She also died of some unidentifiable disease.

 **Anna Becker** \- After Matilda dies, Anna takes care of Oliver on Roy and Riza's request. She is Matilda's daughter and runs an orphanage at Tobha, a city situated at the border of East Region and South Region.

 **Black Hayate-** The loyal canine pet of Riza who has been through many fights with Riza, and is always present there to have her back.

 **[Elric-Rockbell family]**

 **Edward Elric-** AKA the Fullmetal Alchemist. He defeated Father and got back his limbs along with his brother's body, but he had to sacrifice his ability to ever perform alchemy.

 **Alphonse Elric-** He is the younger brother of Edward. He got his body back after the famous battle of Promised Day. Now he and his brother keep themselves away from the vulnerable lifestyle of military, but their past is not ready to leave them that easily.

 **Winry Rockbell-** She is the childhood friend of Ed and Alphonse. She was also Ed's automail mechanic, when Ed still had automails in place of his limbs.

 **Pinako-** She is Winry's grandmother.

 **Den-** Pinako's pet dog.

 **[Armstrong Family]**

 **Olivier Mira Armstrong-** She is the Ice queen, who commands the Fort Briggs, in North Region of Amestris. She is now a Lieutenant General. She stills holds her family sword and she is considered as one of the toughest person in the whole of Amestris.

 **Alex Louis Armstrong-** AKA the Strongarm Alchemist. He is the younger brother of General Armstrong. He now serves as a Colonel in Central City.

 **[Human Chimeras and other supernaturals]**

 **Krid Novak-** He is one of the four rarest human chimeras created by Father. The four chimeras are considered more powerful than the homunculus. After leaving the military during the Ishvalan war, he started living like a nobody in Cameron, which is also Riza's hometown. When Oliver meets him, Krid instantly recognizes Oliver by his scent.

 **Coeus-** He is one of the four rarest human chimeras created by Father. He is a very powerful figure in Drachma, who likes to work from the shadows. He is also referred to as the King by the Prime Minister and Marshall of Drachma. He is the one, who is plotting an attack against Amestris after Father's death. He is also a member of the committee who selects the King of Drachma.

 **Big John-** He is one of the four rarest human chimeras created by Father. He is the psychotic one among the four chimeras and likes to watch people in pain both mentally and physically. He can create illusions which can deceive many senses of anyone, and using this power, he has committed many crimes, including Lieutenant Donovan's murder.

 **Clifton Kozlov-** He is one of the very powerful human chimeras, who serves under Coeus. He is also the Marshall of Drachmann Federation and commands all the offensive and defensive forces in Drachma. He is also a member of the committee who selects the King of Drachma.

 **Baba Yaga-** A legend of Drachmann lore, which is actually a chimera with no human soul.

 **The Dark Creature-** A unkillable creature, which looks like the manifestation of darkness. When it attacked the base of IFF (Ishvalan Freedom Front), it was looking like a dark humanoid with 4 hands and 2 legs. It was crawling to move, instead of walking like a human. Last it was seen chasing the train, in which Oliver and Thomas Maxwell had boarded.

 **Dummy-** Roy and Riza encountered this person at the ruins of Ishvala temple when they were returning from Ishval after the war was over. Nothing much is known about this person, except that he can sense alchemy.

 **Leopard Chimera-** He is an IFF militant, who also happens to be a chimera. Ed fights with him in an alley, and defeats him, after he suspects him to be the person behind the blast of old age home in Central.

 **[Characters from Drachma]**

 **Sieglaff Semenov-** He is the prime minister of Drachma, and he is also a member of the committee who selects the King of Drachma.

 **Boris Bolotov (Artem)-** He was the first person in Drachmann military who freed many children when he found out that the military was performing chimera experiments on children.

 **Boris Bolotov-** Coincidentally he shares exactly the same name with the previous Boris. He is helping the Amestrian military to infiltrate the Drachmann headquarters to get intel, due to two reasons. Firstly, he had a past with General Armstrong and secondly, he hates the Drachmann military. He is also searching for a person for two decades.

 **Toby-** He is the pet bear of Boris. He is a very big brown bear.

 **Viola-** She is a blind woman, who lives in Selonova, a village near the capital city of Drachma. She knows a brief history of Artem.

 **Gabriella Karpin-** She is an Amestrian spy who is living in the Drachmann Palace at Othon for the past 5 years. She has earned the trust of other staff to such an extent that she is now the Chief Maid at the palace.

 **Yegor Netto-** He is the Head of Staff at Drachmann palace.

 **Jane-** She is from the eastern part of Drachma. She befriends Maria Ross at the staff selection exam. She steals a very important key from the head of the weapon development department of Drachmann military.

 **Ivanov, the Eleventh-** He is the current King of Drachma.

 **Wolfos Ruck-** He is the Head Chef at the Drachmann palace.

 **[Characters from Ishval]**

 **Scar-** He is in possession of deconstruction alchemy from the time of the Ishvalan War. After making peace with Amestris, he is now with his people in Ishval, reconstructing the city with the help of Amestrian soldiers.

 **Thomas Maxwell-** He is the leader of the Ishvalan Freedom Front (IFF), which is trying to separate Ishval from Amestris, in order to make it a free country. It was his idea to kidnap Oliver and force Roy to do his bidding.

 **Richard Green-** He is an Amestrian who married to an Ishvalan woman. But, after his family was killed in the Ishvalan war, he takes the path of revenge. He gathered intelligence for the IFF by working as a teacher at the military school in Central City. After playing a key role in kidnapping Oliver, he left Central City, now that his cover was compromised.

 **Pandit-** He is Scar's master and the current representative of the Ishvalan people.

 **Rolan-** He is the most trusted comrade of Thomas Maxwell. He is a very big and strong person. He fought the creature and helped Thomas and Oliver escape.

 **Geeta-** She is one of the IFF soldiers. She fought alongside Rolan with the creature.

 **Sheela-** She is a young teacher in Ishval city.

 **[Characters from Xing]**

 **Ling Yao-** He is one of the princes of Xing, and he is the next in line to the throne.

 **Mei Chang-** She is the half-sister of Ling. She is a very good user of alkahestry at a very young age. It should not be forgotten that she has a thing for Alphonse.

 **Lan Fan-** She is the bodyguard of Ling. She lost her limbs while saving Ling from King Bradley, and now she has replaced her arm with an automail arm.

 **Xiao-Mei-** She is the tiny pet panda of Mei.

 **Yin Gong-** She is ranked as the ninth Zhansi, among the 12 Zhansi of Xing. Zhansi are the strongest warriors of Xing who excel in hand to hand combat and can also perform alkahestry. She uses an umbrella-like weapon during battles and wears a mask. She is also considered one of the most beautiful women in Xing.

 **Yang Gong-** He is the fourth-strongest Zhansi. He is the twin brother of Yin Gong. He uses the family sword passed down by his father. Both the twins have a grudge against Krid Novak who killed their father.

 **Hue Zemin-** He is the political advisor of Ling, who has come to Amestris for the Amestris-Xing meeting along with the Yin-Yang twins, Lan Fan and Mei.

 **Yue Gong-** He is the father of Yin-Yang twins, and he was the previous first Zhansi.

 **The Emperor-** He is the one who rules Xing, and is still seeking a way to attain immortality.

 **[Characters from Amestris]**

 **Cecilia Ingolfson-** AKA the Splinter Alchemist. She is the sole state alchemist, who didn't join the Ishvalan war due to the person she works for. She is the only person working directly for Big John and knows his true identity.

 **Danny Brosch-** He is chosen as one of the soldiers to infiltrate Drachma and gather intel about the upcoming attack from Drachma.

 **Maria Ross-** Initially, framed for the murder of Maes Hughes. After she was proven not guilty, she didn't officially return to the military. Rather, she is chosen along with Danny to infiltrate Drachma and gather intel about the upcoming attack from Drachma.

 **William J. Barns-** Lieutenant Colonel William is one of the best detectives in Amestris. He is now investigating the murder of Lieutenant Donovan, who was killed at the cliff of Wellesly, a city in the West Region. He is also one of the few people who encountered Big John.

 **Jean Havoc-** After his fight with Lust, Jean suffered a blow in his spines, leading to his disability. But, thanks to Roy and Dr. Marcoh, he was healed from something which was seemingly impossible. Now he is a Captain in the military, and serving under Roy.

 **Heymans Breda-** Roy reappointed Breda in Central City after Grumman became the Fuehrer. Current rank: First Lieutenant

 **Vato Falman-** He finally came back to Central City from the cold and punishing, Fort Briggs. Current rank: First Lieutenant

 **Kain Fuery-** Roy also brought him back to his unit from the Southern Region. Current rank: Warrant Officer

 **Volkmar-** He is a Major General, and commands the West Region.

 **Fussen Lech-** He is a Major General, and commands the South Region.

 **Swindale Abingdon-** He is a Lieutenant General, and commands the East Region.

 **Miles-** He is half Ishvalan and the most trusted aide of General Armstrong.

 **Maes Hughes-** Roy's best friend who was killed by Envy.

 **Gracia Hughes-** Maes' wife.

 **Elicia Hughes-** Maes' daughter.

 **Colada-** One of the Amestrian soldiers who went with Olivier Armstrong on a spy mission to Drachma, 15 years ago.

 **Tizona-** One of the Amestrian soldiers who went with Olivier Armstrong on a spy mission to Drachma, 15 years ago.

 **Harvey-** One of the children who helped Oliver take Thomas Maxwell to hospital. He is the eldest of the four kids, whom Oliver encounters at Cameron.

 **Alvin-** He is the nerd among the four kids.

 **Reggie-** He is the silent one among the four kids.

 **Isa-** She is the only girl in the group of the four children. And she is very lively in nature.


	84. Fugitive (Part 2 - Rush Valley)

**[Rush Valley – The city popular for automails]**

After an encounter with the Ishvalan human chimera, Ed broke the new exoskeleton automail invented by Winry. And the only place where Winry could get the desired automail parts, was the city of automails itself, Rush Valley.

The Elric brothers, Winry, Mei and Xiao-Mei had reached the southern city, and without wasting any time, Winry was taking everyone to Atelier Garfiel, the automail shop of Rush Valley where Winry was a part-time employee. While walking toward the shop through the city, Mei said, "So this is the place where you met Ling?"

"Yes, we put quite a show on our first meeting," replied Ed with a mild laugh remembering his first encounter with Ling.

"We had to pay a lot for the damages we did," Al added.

"Were you able to beat them?" asked Mei.

"What did Ling tell you?" Ed questioned.

"He said it was a draw, and he didn't even fight," replied Mei.

"Indeed, he didn't fight, but it was far from a draw. Al and I captured them," informed Ed.

"And then they escaped," Al added.

"Even if you defeated them then, it won't be easy for you now. Lan Fan has improved a lot, she is even training to become one of the Zhansi," said Mei.

"Speaking of the Zhansi, we saw the fight between Yang and Colonel Armstrong. I don't know many people who can fight one on one with Colonel Armstrong, yet Yang did and he almost beat the Strong Arm Alchemist without even pulling out his sword," said Ed with an awestruck voice.

Mei felt a bit of pride, hearing good about her countryman. She smirked and informed, "Yang is the fourth greatest warrior of Xing, and if you think he is dangerous, then you can't imagine how dangerous the top 3 Zhansi can be. They are seen as gods walking among the people of Xing…there battle and alkahestry skills are unparalleled, and they only follow the emperor's orders."

"Sounds like quite some fighters," Ed acknowledged.

While they were walking, Winry saw 3 men were bullying a tall Ishvalan man, in his late twenties, who had an automail arm. The man was physically looking very strong, but he wasn't retaliating. Watching that, she interrupted the talk going on between Ed, Mei, and Al. "Seems like someone is in trouble over there," she said.

Everyone saw what was going on. "Let's find out what's happening," suggested Ed.

They slowly walked closed to the Ishvalan man. One of the 3 men was holding the collar of the Ishvalan man's jacket and had pressed him along the wall of a building. The clothes of the Ishvalan man were already torn off at some places and they were dirty too. "You can't be seen around here, UNDERSTOOD?" growled the man.

"Yes Sir," replied the Ishvalan man very calmly.

The man then punched hard on the guts of the Ishvalan. Watching that, Ed interrupted, "What do you think you are doing?"

The other 2 men turned around and saw Ed and his company. One of the men said, "Turn around kid, this is no place to get involved."

"Why are you bothering that man?" asked Ed.

"Because he is a terrorist," replied the first man very harshly.

The Ishvalan man was quietly listening to all the abuses without speaking a word. "And how do you know that?" questioned Ed.

"BECAUSE HE IS AN ISHVALAN," shouted the man who was holding the Ishvalan man's collar.

"So now you are tormenting people because they look different than you?" Winry looked at the men with furrowed eyebrows.

The man who was holding the Ishvalan man's collar left it and faced Winry. "Why don't you mind your business, young lady?" said the man.

In the meantime, the third man who was standing at the back was trying to remember something, and when he remembered whatever he was trying to remember, he came close to the first man, who was having a heated conversation with Winry. "I think the boy with the red cloak is Edward Elric, the full metal alchemist," he whispered into the ears of the man.

The man couldn't believe what he just heard. "Are you serious?" He looked at the third man.

"Yes, I remember the time when he was fighting some people from Xing, and damaged some property in the process. But the last time I saw him, he had an automail arm and an automail leg. And he was traveling with a guy in armor," informed the third man.

"Then this is not him." Smirked the first man.

Ed was observing them from quite a while talking among themselves and looking at him in-betweens. "What are you talking among yourselves?" He interrupted.

Both the men stopped talking and looked at Ed. "Are you Edward Elric? The Full Metal Alchemist?" asked the first man.

"I am Edward Elric, but I am not the full metal alchemist anymore," replied Ed.

"Then where is your automail arm and leg?" Questioned the third man.

"That's a weird story, you won't believe me," answered Ed with a smile.

"You are not Edward Elric," All the 3 men shouted in sync.

"He is Edward Elric," interrupted Mei.

"No he is not," shouted the 3 men.

"He is," shouted Mei with narrowed eyes.

"Stop it guys, I don't care if someone believes I am Edward Elric or not. The reason why we came here is to help the Ishvalan man," said Ed.

"You don't need to bother, we have told him to leave Rush Valley," said the second man.

"And why would he do that?" asked Ed.

"Because he is an Ishvalan, and Ishvalans are terrorists," replied the first man.

Hearing those racist words, Winry couldn't control herself. "What did you say?" growled Winry.

Winry was so angry as if she was going to kill those men. She pulled out her wrench and walked toward them, but before she could reach near them, Mei charged toward the 3 men. "Don't bother Winry, I will take care of them," said Mei.

Mei jumped to some height and she kicked the three men, displaying her Xingese martial art. Everyone present there were amazed because of the beating which took place just a moment ago. Even the 3 men were amazed, they were not expecting a beating from a small girl. After kicking those men, Mei was standing in an attacking stance and Xiao-Mei was also supporting her by standing beside her in a traditional Xingese martial art pose.

"Go away, and don't bother this gentleman," threatened Mei.

After hearing the threat and getting a beating from Mei, the 3 men stood up and ran away. "That was amazing Mei," said Winry and the Elrics.

Mei turned around and smiled. "It was nothing." Mei chuckled.

The Ishvalan man stood up properly and bowed before his saviors. "You didn't need to save me. I was anyways leaving Rush Valley," said the Ishvalan.

"We were just being some responsible citizens of this nation." Winry smiled.

Watching the man's condition, Al thought he might be having a tough time. So, he did what he always did. "Do you want to have some food with us?" asked Al.

"No, It's fine," replied the Ishvalan. And as soon as he finished off his sentence, his stomach growled.

"Well, your belly is telling something different." Ed laughed.

The Ishvalan started laughing hesitantly. Ed and Al took the Ishvalan man to a nearby food stall, while Winry and Mei went to Atelier Garfiel (the automail workshop). They took some food from the stall and dined at one of the table lying outside the food stall. While eating, Ed said, "We never got to know your name."

"It's Bali," answered the Ishvalan.

"Nice to meet you Bali, my name is Edward Elric," said Ed and continued while turning his head toward Al, who was sitting beside him, "and this is my brother Alphonse."

"Are you truly the famous full metal alchemist?" asked Bali.

"Not anymore. I left the military a few months back," replied Ed.

"Did you really had an automail arm and leg?" questioned Bali.

"Are you still doubting my identity? See, if you want proof then I can call General Mustang in the military. He is a close friend of mine." Ed smiled.

"Do you mean General Roy Mustang…the flame alchemist?" asked Bali with a bit of hesitation.

"That's the one," replied Ed instantly.

Bali finished his food and cleaned his lips using the paper napkin. He then tried to move his automail arm, but it was jammed. "I know someone who can help you with that," said Ed.

"It's fine, you have done enough," replied Bali.

"At least come with us to repair your automail. He is probably the best automail engineer we know in the country," said Al.

"Al is right. After that you can go wherever you were going," Ed added.

The Elric brothers persuaded Bali to come with them to Atelier Garfiel, and all of them proceeded toward the shop.


	85. Fugitive (Part 3 - Bali)

After persuading Bali to repair his automail at Atelier Garfiel, the Elrics and Bali went straight to their destination. When they reached there, they found that Winry was already working on the automail exoskeleton, and Mei was watching Winry fix the automail. Paninya (the girl with the weaponized automail leg who works at Dominic's automail workshop) and Garfiel (the owner of Atelier Garfiel) were also there. When Garfiel saw the Elric brothers, he welcomed them with hugs. He looked at Ed for a moment and said, "My my, Ed…looks like you have grown taller than the last time I saw you."

Ed chuckled. "Yes, a little tall."

Garfiel had never seen Al in his real body, so he looked at Al very carefully. "Hmm, and you must be Alphonse," he said.

"Yes." Al smiled.

"It feels really good to see that you finally got your bodies back." Garfiel smiled.

Garfiel then looked at the tall dark man standing beside the Elric brothers. Garfiel moved his finger over Bali's chest. "And who would you be?" Asked Garfiel while looking into Bali's eyes.

"He is a friend of ours. His name is Bali. His automail is broken so we brought him here," replied Ed.

Garfiel slowly moved his finger from Bali's chest to his automail arm, and grabbed it very tightly. He looked at the automail from all angles and said, "Do not worry Bali, I will fix the automail better than before," with a sultry voice.

Everyone in the room was holding their laugh watching the interaction between Bali and Garfiel. Meanwhile, Bali thought, "I was more comfortable getting beaten by those 3 men."

Then suddenly, Garfiel stood straight and said, "The automail you have right now is very heavy and unreliable. If you want, I can make you a new one, which will be lighter and stronger than you have right now."

"But I don't have any money with me," replied Bali.

"Don't worry about that." Garfiel grinned

Bali got more uncomfortable watching the grin on Garfiel's face. Garfiel then asked Bali to sit on a chair so that he could remove the automail arm. Bali adhered to Garfiel's instruction and sat on the long bed-like chair. Once Bali was comfortable on the chair, Garfiel started detaching the automail arm. Meanwhile, Paninya asked, "So Bali, where are you from?"

"I came here from the Western Area, a month back. I have been staying in Rush Valley since then," replied Bali.

"That's strange, I never saw you in the city, and there aren't any Ishvalans in Rush Valley," said Paninya.

"People here were reluctant to give me a regular job. Somehow I managed to find a kind person who agreed to give me a job, but for a late-night shift and he advised me to hide my Ishvalan lineage if I want to survive in Rush Valley. Maybe that's why you never saw me," explained Bali.

"People here started getting afraid of Ishvalans after the Ishvalan war broke out. Things started looking good after few years of the end of Ishvalan war, but then the IFF came into the surface and people started looking at every Ishvalan as a terrorist, how unfortunate," said Garfiel and sighed.

"Even I broke the exoskeleton automail while fighting an IFF militant," informed Ed.

"You will never change." Paninya laughed.

Ed laughed as well, admitting his habits of getting into danger. Meanwhile, Al added, "The Ishvalan man was not a normal human though."

But, more than anyone, the piece of information piqued Bali's interest. He looked at Al with narrowed eyes and asked with an instant, "What do you mean by not normal human?"

"He was a human chimera…a leopard chimera to be precise," replied Al.

Bali eyes were widened. He laid back his head on the chair bed and looked at the ceiling. He went numb for a moment and then questioned hesitantly, "Was he…looking like…" He gulped and continued, "Me?"

"Initially, we were hesitant to ask you, as it could have gone wrong. But, now that you have mentioned it…yes, he was…kind of looking like you," replied Winry while working on her automail.

In the meantime, Garfiel detached Bali's automail arm. Soon after that, Bali stood up and looked at Ed and Al. "There is something you should know. I owe you people at least the truth if I cannot give anything else. I have not told this to anyone…mostly because it sounds ridiculous to the general public. You are alchemists, so I hope you will understand," said Bali.

Everyone in the room stopped their work and looked at Bali. "What truth?" Al asked.

"The person you caught is my younger brother, Bahu. We were almost about your age when the Ishvalan war broke out. Many of our people were dying every day before our eyes. Kids of our age were also fighting in the war… and many fled off to various parts of the country to hide. Even some people fled to a foreign nation to take refuge, but the countries were not allowing them to stay. I was not a brave Ishvalan who could fight alongside others, so I fled off like a coward, taking my brother with me. We went through the Great Desert and somehow got inside Drachma. We were trying to survive in Drachma, and because we were so identifiable in a crowd due to our lineage, surviving became more difficult. But, then one day the newly appointed Marshal of Drachma saw us on the roadside begging for food. He came to us and asked with a smile, "Do you need a home?" We were so desperate to have a place to sleep and eat that saying no was never an option for us. He took us to Junior Military Academy where children like us are trained to be future Drachmann soldiers. And one day we were enrolled for a program called Lab C. In that program, we were turned into some monster, which they called chimeras…But we had no problem with our new self. We were then given a better status, and assigned to Special Forces. Years passed on like that, until one day Bahu found out about IFF and the Ishvalans who were struggling to make Ishval a free country. He somehow got inside Amestris and joined IFF. Even the Drachmann military was unaware of his action until he got inside Amestris. Because I was his brother, the Drachmann military held me and punished me by cutting off my arm. Then they put me in jail, and suddenly almost two months back, they exiled me from Drachma. To survive, somehow I got inside Creta (Country at the western border of Amestris). Then I took the help of some smugglers to get inside West Area and then South Area, to search for my brother. I heard that there are some good and affordable automail engineers in Rush Valley, and I needed an arm. So, I came here and now I am stuck."

When Bali completed his story and looked around, everyone was looking at him with widened eyes and open mouth. Bali smirked at the reaction. "I told you it's hard to believe, but that is the truth," said Bali.

"So Drachma has alchemists who can create human chimeras?" asked Ed.

"That's true," replied Bali.

"Creating human chimera is a form of human transmutation, and that requires a philosopher stone to be successful," said Ed.

"I don't know what a philosopher's stone is, but I can assure you that there are lots of human chimera in Drachma. Maybe far beyond your imaginations," informed Bali.

"But, it's not possible because the only people who know the process of creating a philosophers stone are in Amestris," said Al.

After listening to Al, Bali started grunting and soon transformed into his chimera form. He was a Black Panther Chimera, different from his brother who was a spotted leopard. Garfiel and Paninya were the only ones there, who were shocked to see the transformation because that was the first time they saw a chimera. Bali looked toward the people around in his chimera form and smirked. Then he looked at the Elric brothers and asked, "Now do you believe me?"


	86. Fugitive (Part 4 - Gabur)

After fleeing from the hotel of Central City, The Xingese group which contained Ling, Lan Fan, and the Yin-Yang twins, took a train to the Eastern Area. To be specific, they were travelling to Cameron because Ling wanted to meet the infamous Krid Novak, the blind man who killed Yin-Yang's father.

The train in which they were travelling had already run for more than 10 hours and Cameron was still 2 stations away. After some time, the train stopped at a station. Ling, Yin, and Lan Fan got out of the train to take some fresh air outside while Yang waited for them inside the train. The station where the train stopped was the station just before Cameron. It was the famous town, Gabur, where the Eastern military camp for women was situated. The military camp was, in fact, the only women-only military camp in Amestris.

An hour passed since the train was not showing any sign of movement, so Yin went to two railway staffs who were busy talking something serious among themselves. "Excuse me," she interrupted.

When both men reciprocated and looked at her, they froze. Their eyes were watching Yin talking very slowly while their mind was instantly having thoughts of starting a family with the woman in front of them. Yin, on the other hand, was used to that kind of reaction, so she sighed and cleared her throat to bring back the two men from their daydreams.

But, even after coming back from the dream world, their cheeks were red and both of them were smiling. "Yes," said both the men.

"When will the train leave?" asked Yin.

"The train isn't going anywhere," replied one man with a love-struck voice.

Yin looked at them with narrowed eyes. Watching that, the other man said, "This is the final station of this train. It was supposed to go to Cameron, but a railway bridge collapsed last night on the way to Cameron. So, other trains are taking an alternate route to other Eastern cities and towns without passing through Cameron."

Yin sighed. "This is such a big inconvenience. Why didn't anyone inform us?" She asked.

"Every passenger was informed last night," replied the first man.

Yin then remembered a knock on her compartment door the previous night when every one of her group was sleeping. She opened the door and a railway staff informed her that the train would go till Gabur, and she responded with an "ok" and closed the door. It was too late for her to correct her mistake. She closed her eyes for a moment to calm down and then asked, "How can I go to Cameron?"

"It's difficult to find any transportation other than the military vehicles in this town. But, if you get lucky, you might find a ride to Cameron. It's around 30 miles from here after all," answered the second man with a smile.

"30 miles!" Yin shouted with a pleased voice.

Yin's disappointment changed to happiness when she found out that Cameron was only 30 miles from there. She quickly went to her group and told them everything she found from the two railway staff. After that, the Xingese group brought out all the luggage they had from the train and proceeded toward the exit gate of the station. Before leaving the station, she thanked the two railway staff by hugging them. And a single hug proved to be deadly for the two men. They froze at their place, with their whole face turned red.

When the group got out of the station, they saw there was no concrete road like there used to be in cities, and there were hardly any people wandering outside the station. They saw a middle-aged woman just outside the station who seemed like a local. So, they approached her and asked her the way to the main town. The woman directed them, and they started walking in the instructed direction. After walking a few 100 meters they could see a small market. They went there and saw the place was overcrowded with women, there were only a handful of men present there.

"Is this place some kind of woman territory, like we used to listen in stories?" said Ling.

"The military training camp for women is situated in this place, that's why there are too many women," Yang informed.

"Hmmm…let's have some food and take some rest for some time," advised Ling.

"What about finding a ride to Cameron?" Asked Yang.

"Relax Yang, it's only 30 miles from here. We can find a ride and reach there in no time. Then we can enjoy the fight between you and your nemesis," said Ling.

Yang was bound by his role as Ling's bodyguard, so he couldn't force his opinions to Ling. "Young Lord. Will it be okay if I explore the town a bit, on my own?" asked Yang.

"Sure, go on," replied Ling.

Yang left the group after getting permission from Ling and went to some different part of the town to have some alone time. Meanwhile, the remaining three were wandering the market. Ling was tasting different kinds of street foods wherever he could find with his lady bodyguards.

While they were having fun in the market, they saw a military lady sticking some pamphlets on some walls and a huge public was surrounding her. Out of curiosity, they went to see what was happening there and why a mob was surrounding that woman while she was sticking a pamphlet. When they reached there, the military lady was finished off with sticking the pamphlet and was about to announce something. "Those who don't know, the yearly fighting tournament organized by the women military camp will be starting today at 2 PM. This tournament is not exclusively for the women working for the military, but also for the women who think they are a good fighter and have a chance at winning the tournament. If you have not registered yet, you can still do it just before the tournament start at the camp. Top three winners will be awarded 7000, 10000, and 15000 Cenz respectively," informed the military lady.

The military lady left after saying that, and everyone went back to their work, talking among themselves about the tournament. Ling and his group were listening to all the discouraging words that were floating in the surrounding, like,

"There is no way we can ever beat the women of the military camp. After all, that place has created most of the strongest women in the military, like Olivier Armstrong, Cecilia Ingolfson, and Riza Hawkeye."

"At least we can enjoy the tournament"

Even though the words were pretty discouraging, it did not affect the two lady warriors of Xing. Instead, they were excited to get into the tournament. They looked toward Ling who was already smiling. And before they could ask, Ling said, "Make sure you win the tournament."

Lan Fan and Yin smiled back and nodded their head.


	87. Fugitive (Part 5 - Julia)

It was almost 2 PM and the fighting tournament at the all-women military camp was about to start. There was a huge crowd to see the tournament. They were surrounding the square fighting arena, which was made of some thick planks at two feet height from the ground. There were no ropes or any kind of safety boundary at the edges of the arena.

Lan Fan and Yin had registered for the tournament and were warming up. "There is no way any of the woman here, who can defeat two of the strongest women of Xing," Ling cheered with full enthusiasm.

"You're absolutely correct right there." Yin smiled.

In the meantime, a military woman of lower rank came to the arena with a mic in her hand. She stood at the center of the arena and said, "Hello ladies and….gentlemen."

Everyone laughed at the pause she took before speaking gentlemen because there were only a handful of men present there. She waited for the laugh to settle down a bit and then continued, "Like every year, this year also the Gabur Military Training Camp is proud to organize the Annual Fighting Tournament. Every year we used to fight among ourselves, but this year…we have two non-military women registered for the tournament. So, there are a total of 16 ladies who have participated this year, out of which 14 are from the military and the rest 2 are outsiders. Now, let me explain the rules….Every round will be a knockout round, which means only the winner of each round will advance to the next round. There is no time limit. The match will end if any of the fighter yields, falls outside the arena or incapable of fighting anymore. Use of weapons is prohibited, as well as alchemy…if you are an alchemist of course, which is very rare to see." The audience laughed.

Again after the laughter settled, the announcer resumed, "Now, let me tell you a brief history of this tournament, especially for people who don't know." She looked at the Xingese group. "This tournament is being organized for the past 35 years, and was being initiated by a group of military women to show the world that women can also fight…to be precise, they can even fight better than the men. Now without wasting any time, let the tournament begin."

The crowd applauded as the announcer slowly walked off the arena. After she was gone, a female referee walked inside the arena to begin the match. Every competitor present there was nervous except some women like Yin, and women who were very confident about winning. After some time, the first pair of fighter's name was announced, they were Nami and Julia. Hearing that, Yin started walking toward the arena. Ling was confused. He looked at Lan Fan and asked, "Why is she going to the arena? Her name isn't even called yet."

"We registered by fake names, she registered as Nami," replied Lan Fan.

"Why?" Ling brows furrowed.

"If the military finds out who we truly are then they will not let us go, and they will inform the central command," Lan Fan explained.

"hmmm…I didn't think about that. What is your name then?" asked Ling.

Lan Fan averted her eyes. "Aaa…It's…."

"I am waiting," Ling said.

"Robin. I have registered by the name Robin," answered Lan Fan in a single go, and she lowered her head with embarrassment.

"That's a cute name," said Ling, and with his comment, Lan Fan's whole face turned red.

In the meantime, Yin was at the arena along with the other lady whose name was Julia, who was physically looking as strong as Yin. Yin had given her weapons to Ling for safeguard due to the rules.

Both the woman fighters present at the arena were barefooted as they were not even allowed to wear shoes. And within a few seconds, the referee whistled to start the first match of the tournament. Both of them took an attacking stance, but they waited for the other one to attack. When no one took the first step to attack for some time, Julia lost her patience and charged toward Yin. She started raining punches, and Yin was dodging the punches without even breaking a sweat. She then suddenly blocked one of the punches and quickly used her index and middle fingers together to attack Julia's shoulder blade. Due to that, Julia was incapable of use the arm where she was attacked. Now that her defense was absent from one side, she panicked and gave a second opening to Yin. Getting the opportunity, Yin used a similar attack she used previously to attack the other shoulder blade. Julia was incapable of using either of her arms. She had no choice left. She fell on her knees and yielded. After the match ended, Yin went near Julia and held one of her arms. "Let me fix your arm," said Yin.

Julia looked at Yin with a slightly open mouth and nodded her head after a moment. Yin used some technique on Julia's shoulder blades to fix the temporary paralysis. Julia stood up and moved her shoulders in circles. She was impressed that Yin fixed her shoulders like a magician. "You are very good at fighting, but let me tell you, there is one woman in the tournament who has not been defeated for the last 3 years and she has beaten each of the opponents with ease. If you keep winning like this, you will meet her soon," informed Julia.

Soon after having a brief conversation, both of them went back in their ways. Yin went back to have alone time before her next match, without giving any importance to what Julia said. Meanwhile, the tournament kept on going, and gradually the last match of the round of 16 was announced. "Now, the next match is between Karen and Robin," shouted the Announcer.

Lan Fan was ready to fight. She walked toward the arena while Ling cheered her. Ling didn't just let go of the opportunity to tease her. "Go Robin and show them who Robin really is. Go Robin go," Ling kept on shouting.

Lan Fan was also quietly walking toward with a lowered embarrassed face. When Lan Fan reached near the referee for inspection, she was stopped by the referee due to her automail arm. Watching Lan Fan stuck with the referee, Ling rushed to her and heard the referee say, "You cannot enter into the arena with an automail."

Before Lan Fan could reply, Ling growled, "It's not like she had a choice. If you haven't noticed, she lacks an arm."

The referee looked at Ling. "Who are you?" She asked.

"I am her friend," replied Ling.

"So, Mr. Friend. It will be unfair for other participants if their competitor is using a metallic arm, while they are barehanded," said the referee.

She then looked at Lan Fan and said, "Look, if you can remove your automail, then you can participate in the tournament."

"Where can she find an automail engineer right now?" Shouted Ling.

Karen, the other competitor, was standing there, listening to all the conversation going on. When she heard Ling, she interrupted by saying, "As if she can fight me with only one hand!" She smirked and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"Yes, she can," answered Ling very calmly like molten lava slowly engulfing its surrounding.

But Karen was not intimidated. She said, "Well if that is true then I have no issue fighting her as long as she doesn't use her automail arm for any purpose. By any purpose, I mean not using it for fighting or taking support while fighting. Is that okay?"

There was silence for a moment, but then the referee said, "If Karen has no problem, then you can participate. So, do you agree to her conditions, Robin?"

Ling and Lan Fan looked at Karen who was oozing overconfidence. And together they replied, "Yes," with confidence.


	88. The Best (Part 1 - Victoria)

**[Gabur- Eastern Military Training Camp]**

After Lan Fan agreed to fight without using the automail arm, the referee allowed to begin the match. Both the fighters entered the arena and stood in their position. Karen was grinning, for the fact that she was fighting a handicapped woman, defeating whom seemed very easy. Both of them were in a defensive stance and were maintaining a gap in between.

"Please forgive me if I break your other hand," Karen smirked.

She was trying to provoke Lan Fan and it was working just fine because Lan Fan was angry. When the referee blew the whistle, both the fighters stood still at their position in a defensive stance. But, it was difficult for Lan Fan to go fully defensive as she was not allowed to use her left arm. It made easy for Karen to discover an opening on Lan Fan's left side, so she was slowly moving to be on that side of Lan Fan. Gradually, the gap between the two fighters shrunk as both of them were slowly moving toward each other in circles. When both of them were close enough, Karen attacked at the opening, but Lan Fan quickly took a step back and dodged the attack. And then she instantly countered it with a low wheel kick by taking the support of her right hand. Karen was not expecting an attack like that, mostly because of her overconfidence. She fell prey to Lan Fan's kick and lost her balance. She fell forward but quickly used her hands to save her face from hitting the floor.

When she tried to stand up, she saw a punch coming toward her face, which panicked her. Instead of stopping the punch, she closed her eyes and shouted, "I YIELD, I YIELD". Maybe her real-self kicked in.

The punch which was about to hit Karen never hit her. Karen opened her eyes and saw the punch was just an inch away from her face. Everyone in the audience had their eyes widened and jaw open. There was complete silence as Lan Fan pulled back her punch because the crowd was amazed to see a handicapped woman defeat her opponent in such a short time.

Lan Fan was very much satisfied with her victory. She didn't say anything to Karen because her actions said it for her. After some time, both the fighters left the arena. There was no noise from the crowd which witnessed the fight, but there was someone who was cheering Lan Fan with all his energy. "That's our Robin. She can fight anyone and she can do that with just one hand." Shouted Ling as Lan Fan walked out of the arena with her head lowered out of embarrassment.

Lan Fan came near Ling as he was continuing his cheerleading. "Young lord, can you please stop now?" She said with a low voice. Ling smirked looking at her embarrassed red face and decided to stop.

Soon the round of 8 started in which Yin had no difficulty clearing it, but Lan Fan had few difficulties, considering she was fighting with just one arm. Yin and Lan Fan successfully reached the semi-finals, and they had made quite a lot of fans in the process. While Lan Fan was researching her next opponent, Yin still wasn't even concerned to find her opponent's identity.

After an hour of the round of 8, the semis started, and Yang was still nowhere to be seen. Ling, Lan Fan, and Yin were also so into the tournament that they forgot about him. Soon the semi-finals started and the announcer announced the first match which was between Lan Fan and a military woman named Victoria. Lan Fan and Ling had already seen Victoria fighting, and it was not the fighting style that was impressive, it was the sheer size which was intimidating. Victoria was 6.5 feet high woman with a very muscular physique. Every fight in which she fought, she was winning without much effort. Lan Fan was trying not to get afraid of Victoria, but fighting such a huge person with one hand was a very difficult task to accomplish. If she could get hold of Lan Fan at any moment, then she could easily throw her outside the arena.

When it was time, Lan Fan ascended the few stairs to the arena, and she saw Victoria was already waiting for her to come. When Lan Fan was about to ascend the final step, Ling called her from behind. Lan Fan stopped and turned around. Ling was standing just below the steps. He held Lan Fan's shoulder and looked into her eyes. "That woman over there may be huge. She might have thrashed all the opponents she faced to fight you. But, I can say without a doubt that she doesn't have a heart bigger than you." He looked at her automail. "And this is the proof."

Ling never forgot Lan Fan's sacrifice when they fought Bradley and Gluttony, where she cut off her arm to protect Ling. So, when she heard those assuring words from Ling, the ever serious face had a smile on it. She walked very confidently toward the arena and stood in front of Victoria without any sign of intimidation on her face. Victoria was gazing at Lan Fan like an elephant gazing at a rabbit. She looked at her amputated limb and shouted, "I am not going to fight a handicapped girl. Allow her to use both her arms."

"But her automail is practically a weapon. If you get hit by it then you might get injured very badly," explained the referee.

"Then bring me something by which I can protect myself." Shouted Victoria.

When the crow heard Victoria's furious voice, everyone in the audience started chanting, "Bring her a shield."

The crowd was shouting like the mad crowd from the ancient Roman Empire, who were present there to watch bloodbath in the arena. The referee had to go, consult the judges, and finally, the use of weapons was allowed for the match.

Victoria went to get her weapon of choice to fight Lan Fan, while Lan Fan was curiously waiting at the arena. Meanwhile, the announcer announced, "Few changes have been made for the first semi-final match. Due to the request of Victoria, the seniors have allowed her to use any defensive tool against Robin, who can now use her automail. Rules for defeating remains the same with one addition. Now the fighter can also win by disarming the opponent, which can be done by making the opponent incapable of using their weapon either by throwing the weapon outside the arena or just making it useless."

The crowd cheered, now that they were going to see some real fight. After some time, Victoria came with a riot shield, but it was smaller than a typical riot shield. She could easily lift it with only one hand. Both the fighters took their position and stood in a defensive stance, and within a moment the referee whistled to start the fight. And with the sound of the whistle, the crowd cheered for the unique fight to begin.

As soon as the match started, Victoria charged at Lan Fan like a raging bull by placing the shield in front of her. Lan Fan quickly dodged the attack by jumping sideways. When Victoria missed Lan Fan, she stopped and quickly threw the shield toward Lan Fan like a Frisbee. Even though the shield was light for Victoria, it was not the same for Lan Fan. When Lan Fan saw the shield approaching her, she had no time left to dodge it. She used her metal arm to defend herself, because of which she was pushed back to the edge of the arena. When she thought she was safe, she saw Victoria jumping toward her to land a devastating punch. So, she quickly rolled sideways to dodge Victoria's attack, and Victoria landed a punch on the floor. After dodging, Lan Fan noticed that Victoria's shield was lying at a distance, and Victoria was without any weapon at that moment. Victoria also noticed that she was vulnerable, so she ran toward the shield before Lan Fan could reach it. Both the women were running toward the shield as if their life depended on it. When both the women were at the proximity of the shield, they pounced at it. But, due to Victoria's greater height, she reached the shield first and quickly used it to block the incoming punch from Lan Fan while lying on the floor. Lan Fan punched with her automail arm and was successfully blocked by Victoria. Lan Fan then kept on raining punches on the shield, behind which Victoria was hiding.

Victoria was now in a difficult position. She had no option other than hiding behind the shield. Gradually, when she noticed the speed of the punches slowing down, she rolled out of that place and quickly stood up on her feet holding her shield. But, as soon as she recovered, she felt a heavy hit on her ankles. It was Lan Fan who hit her by a low kick, and as expected by Lan Fan, when Victoria lost her balance and seemed like she was about to fall on the floor, Lan Fan jumped and initiated a kick directed at her face. But, Victoria somehow managed to control herself and blocked Lan Fan's attack with her free hand. Soon after the recent attack, she saw an incoming punch by the automail arm. She acted quickly and tried to bring the shield in between her and the incoming punch, but she was barely saved by the punch because the punch hit at the edge of the shield and was deflected to hit Victoria's left triceps. Victoria was pushed a few steps back due to the attack and was about to fall from the edge of the arena, but she barely managed to stay in.

The fight was so good that the crowd was speechless while the fight was going. Everyone present there was feeling the intensity of the match. Both the fighters were panting, standing a few feet away from each other. Victoria then looked at Lan Fan and smirked because she was enjoying the fight, and Lan Fan reciprocated her with a smile as she was feeling the same. Soon after that, Lan Fan charged toward Victoria, and Victoria was waiting for her with her shield up. Watching that, the long silent mob cheered for both of them. Both the fighters were fighting at the edge of the arena, exchanging blows with each other. Lan Fan was fighting like an acrobat and dodging all the incoming attacks from Victoria whether it was a punch, kick, or an attack from the shield. And Victoria was also blocking all the incoming attacks with her muscular hands and shield. But, suddenly she heard the cracking sound of the shield. When Lan Fan also noticed that, she used her full strength to punch the shield, and as expected, the shield broke. But, the force from Lan Fan's automail arm was greater than just to break the shield. Lan Fan's automail hand was approaching Victoria's face after breaking the shield.

Watching the punch coming toward her, Victoria realized that she had no way of surviving that, and she calmly closed her eyes with a smile on her face. She dropped the half-broken shield on the floor, expecting a blow on her face. But, when she didn't feel a hit on her face, she opened her eyes and saw Lan Fan stopped her punch just before her face. Victoria smiled in that situation and said, "You know, I am not going to yield or getting out of this arena on my own."

"I know," replied Lan Fan.

Lan Fan then moved a few steps and picked up the broken shield. Victoria was not expecting that, her eyes widened out of surprise as she realized the newly implemented rule. "NOOOO". She shouted as she leaped at the shield.

But, it was too late. Lan Fan threw the shield out of the arena and emerged as the victor of the first semi-final. When the fight ended, the crowd cheered for Lan Fan by chanting her fake name, "Robin." And among all the people present there, Ling's voice was the loudest.


	89. The Best (Part 2 - Artemis)

After the exciting first semi-final, now it was time for the second semi-final which was between Yin and the reigning champion, who had not been defeated for the last 3 years. But, Yin didn't even bother to find out who she was, she was pretty confident that she was going to win.

When the little break after the first semi-final ended, the announcer entered the arena. She stood at the center and shouted, "Wasn't it a great fight?" The crowd cheered in response.

"Let us now begin the next match which I am pretty sure will be as exciting as the previous match if not more… The first fighter is the impressive Nami who beat all her opponents till now without breaking a sweat…and the second fighter is our own champion who is undefeated till now, Second Lieutenant Artemis." The crowd shouted like a group of a crazy fans on the announcement of Artemis' name.

Yin walked at the arena to face the champion without a hint of fear or intimidation on her face. While she was ascending the small stairs to the arena, she saw her opponent had already arrived there. Artemis was a brown-haired woman, in her late twenties. She had a well-toned physique like most of the women in the military, but she was slightly shorter in height than Yin. She was wearing a black turtle neck t-shirt and a military trouser. In order to hold her long brown hairs together, she had used a black hair clip.

Yin walked to the arena very calmly and stood in front of Artemis. Artemis looked at her and smirked confidently. "How a pretty face like you reached to the semi-finals?"

"You will soon find out." Yin smiled.

"Just to inform you, I don't regret after messing up pretty faces," said Artemis.

"Are you sure about that? Because even though you aren't as pretty as me, you might still run to hide your face after I break your streak," replied Yin.

Artemis went ballistic. The referee present there could see her angry face, and Yin was smiling back at her. "Are you alright, Lieutenant?" asked the referee while keeping his distance from Artemis.

"Just start the fight," Artemis growled while glaring at Yin.

"Yeah, just start the fight." Yin smiled while looking at Artemis.

The referee took a few steps back and whistled to start the fight. Both the fighters maintained some distance from each other. Artemis could see Yin smiling at her, which was making her mad. And within a few seconds, she lost her cool and charged toward Yin. She started raining punches and kicks, and Yin was blocking and dodging every attack from Artemis, but she was surprised because of the way Artemis was fighting. Artemis was moving her limbs very swiftly and the way she was moving her body parts could be compared to a mix of snake and tiger style, which was native to Xing only. But, it was more than just a Xingese style to Yin. While blocking and dodging the attacks, Yin asked, "Your fighting style…where did you learn it?"

"Why? Is my fighting style bothering you?" Artemis smirked while keeping up her attacks.

Yin then suddenly changed from defense to offense. The way she was attacking Artemis was almost same as how Artemis was fighting a second earlier, but Yin's attacks were more polished. Because of this, now Artemis was having difficulty blocking and dodging Yin's attack. Within a few moments, Yin found an opening and attacked Artemis' chest with her open palm. Artemis was pushed back to some distance due to the force of the attack. Drops of sweat were appearing throughout her face, and few of the drops were sliding down her chin to the floor. Meanwhile, Yin was standing quietly and glaring at Artemis. The crowd which was initially cheering for Artemis was now silent, they never thought that Artemis could be overpowered.

"Now tell me, who taught you that fighting style?" asked Yin.

"Seems like you have the same fighting style," said Artemis while panting. "Why don't you tell me who taught you?"

"My father," replied Yin very calmly, but her face was telling a different story. She was angry like the calmness before a storm.

Artemis slowly walked toward Yin. "Well, I didn't have a father, to begin with. So I can't say that." She smirked and started raining punches. She tried to deliver a roundhouse kick, but Yin dodged it. And then the kick was followed up by a punch directed at Yin's face. Yin blocked it with one hand and countered with a chop directed at Artemis' neck. But, Artemis blocked the chop before getting hit by it. While Artemis blocked the chop, Yin grabbed the wrist with which she was blocked and pulled Artemis toward her, then she fiercely attacked Artemis with her knees on the abdomen. The hit was pretty hard. It was so strong that Artemis spat blood, and fell on her knees.

The referee quickly whistled and stopped the match as soon as she saw blood, while the crowd was silently witnessing the brutal fight. The referee bent down to Artemis' level, and asked, "Are you alright Lieutenant?"

She could see that Artemis' lips were stained with blood. However, Artemis glared at the referee and replied, "Yes…and don't interfere before I teach a lesson to this woman."

"Okay, but remember, if I feel you are just forcing yourself then I will stop this match and declare Nami as the winner," said the referee.

Artemis stood up while the referee took a few steps back. She glared at Yin and spat red saliva on the floor. Meanwhile, the referee resumed the match, and the barrages of kicks and punches continued to be exchanged between the two women. While fighting, Yin said, "Just tell me who taught you this fighting style, and I won't hurt you."

Artemis couldn't believe that she was being dominated by an unknown woman who was also using the same fighting style, but better than her. "You haven't defeated me yet," she shouted.

Artemis was only a few feet away from the arena boundary, and Yin had noticed that. Yin punched straight with full strength, which was successfully blocked, and then within a fraction of second after her punch was blocked, Yin delivered a low spinning wheel kick. But, Artemis saw through the attack and jumped to avoid it. While Artemis thought she evaded Yin's attack, she was actually acting the way Yin was expecting. When Artemis was in the air, she had no ground to hold on for a grip and she was very close to the edge of the arena. So, Yin used both her hands to deliver a push attack with open palms to Artemis. Artemis successfully blocked the attack, but the force of the attack pushed her to the edge. Her feet didn't have enough ground to hold on. She realized that she lost the fight as she was falling from the edge, but suddenly she felt someone held her wrist and prevented her from falling outside the arena. When she looked at the person who saved her, it was none other than Yin. Yin pulled her back to the arena, and whispered into her ears, "See…I can beat you pretty easily."

The insult pierced through Artemis' heart. But, she didn't retaliate. She had realized that she was no match for Yin. She fell on her knees and lowered her head as tears were forming in her eyes. Watching that, the judges and referee were deciding whether to end the match or not, because none of the conditions had satisfied which could end the match. Neither Artemis fell outside the arena, nor she yielded, and she was fully capable of fighting. But, more than anything, the judges were afraid of Artemis' rage. They were afraid that declaring Yin the winner at that moment would definitely piss off Artemis.

In the meantime, Yin looked down at Artemis. "Now tell me, who taught you this fighting style?"

"I can't," replied Artemis.

Artemis was looking at the floor, very much disappointed with herself. The crowd was even silent looking at the scene. And the answer which Artemis gave to Yin, made Yin angrier. Yin positioned her fist to deliver a direct punch on Artemis' face. Artemis, on the other hand, wasn't even trying to block or dodge the punch. And everyone else there was petrified with their jaw open. But, before Yin could deliver the punch, she heard a familiar voice, "STOP IT… I TAUGHT HER."

It was Yang. Yin looked at her brother with pure rage, while she was breathing heavily. It was not only her who was looking at Yang, even Artemis' eyes were widened when she saw him. The action scene just turned into drama when Yang interfered and all the attention diverted toward him.


	90. The Best (Part 3 - Finals)

The semi-finals were over when Yang interfered in the intense dramatic fight between Yin and Artemis. Yin was declared as the victor and the reign of the undefeated champion ended. After the fight was over, Yin and Artemis walked out of the Arena, while Yang waited for them, below the stairs. First it was Yin who walked down the minute staircase. She glared at Yang and walked off. After that, it was Artemis who walked slowly down the stairs. Once she ascended down all the stairs with her bruised body, she looked at Yang and smiled. Yang smiled back. "Are you alright?" He asked, even though she was beaten up very badly by his sister some time ago.

Artemis didn't answer. Instead, she walked closer to him, wrapped her hands around his neck, and hugged him tightly, even though her body was aching with pain. "I missed you," she said.

But, the embrace didn't last for very long, when Victoria decided to interfere. "How are you, Yang?"

Both of them let go of each other and looked at Victoria. "I am doing fine, Victoria," Yang replied with a smile.

In the meantime, Artemis cleared her throat, and when Yang looked at her, she said, "Why don't we go somewhere," she looked around, only to find surrounded by mob. "…peaceful," she added.

They went to the tree shed, where Yin was having her break. Yin was lying against the tree trunk, on her back, closing her eyes. When she heard the footsteps, she opened her eyes, fully aware of Yang's arrival. She was not mad like some time ago when she learned that it was Yang who taught the family martial art to an Amestrian woman, whom she never knew. She took a deep breath and exhaled to cool off any remaining rage left inside her. "Now tell me, how do you know her?" She asked.

Yang sat on the ground just like her sister, and Artemis followed along. He looked at Yin and said, "I should have told you long ago."

"Told me what?" Yin sat uptight, as she gazed into her brother's eyes.

"Artemis and I are…" Yang gulped. "Married."

"I thought so," said Yin very casually as she relaxed back on the tree trunk. "I always wondered why you visited Amestris so much." She looked at Artemis. "By the way, my real name is Yin Gong. I am your husband's twin sister."

"I guess I am lucky then. I fought a Zhansi and survived." Artemis smirked. "So, what are you two doing in Gabur?"

But, before they could answer, something struck her mind. "You are going to Cameron, for Krid Novak. Aren't you?" She asked with furrowed brows.

"You know way too much about us," said Yin.

"I am a part of your family after all," replied Artemis.

"Whatever," said Yin as she averted her eyes from Artemis.

Yin had clearly not accepted Artemis as a part of her family. She was relaxing against the tree, giving solid hints that she wanted Artemis to leave. Yang was always aware that something like that would definitely happen, and that time had arrived in his life. So, he decided to tell everything to her sister. Before explaining, he took a deep breath and began,

"When I was selected as a Zhansi for the first time, I was confident that now I could avenge our father, and I went to fight him. He fought me as he promised us years ago when he killed our father. But, I was no match for him…I was fortunate that he didn't kill me. However, because of my recklessness, I was hurt pretty badly in a fight, and instead of leaving me behind, he who took me to the hospital. There I met Artemis who used to come there to see her dying brother. My bed was just beside Artemis's brother, so she and I became friends gradually. A few months later, after more training, I went back to Cameron to fight Krid, but I failed again. During my fight with Krid, Artemis saw me and asked me to train her as she wanted to get into the military. I refused to train her, but she was very persistent. Eventually I had to give up to her determination and I taught her. With passing time, we started developing feelings for each other. The next time when I went back to Cameron, Artemis' brother was dead and she was alone. And instead of trying to kill our father's killer, I chose to give up to love and married Artemis. I kept on trying to defeat Krid, but I always faced defeat, and Artemis was used to that fact. Gradually, my desire to kill Krid faded away, and I started respecting him for the man he was…Now, you must be wondering why did I came to kill Krid then. I knew even if we try together, we cannot beat him. I just didn't want to disappoint you by showing you that I have given up the thought of avenging our father. But, I am pretty sure, even our father never wanted us to avenge him. Back then, Krid was just doing his duty, and we should be grateful to him for letting us go alive."

In the meantime, the announcer announced the start of the final match by calling the fake names of Yin and Lan Fan, which was Nami and Robin respectively. Yin stood up, and looked down at her brother. "I pity you, Yang Gong," she said and walked toward the arena.

After some time both Lan Fan and Yin reached the arena and took their positions at the center. The referee was standing between them. She looked at Yin, and asked, "What weapon or shield do you want, to fight against Robin?"

Due to the new decision taken by the judges, anyone could fight against Lan Fan with any weapon or shield-like Victoria did, because Lan Fan was using her automail.

"I don't need any weapon," replied Yin.

The referee looked at Yin with widened eyes. "Excuse me?" She said as she couldn't believe what she just heard.

"I said I don't need a weapon to fight her," answered Yin.

Lan Fan was not surprised by Yin's decision, after all Yin was the ninth Zhansi and one of the best fighters of Xing. After some time, the referee agreed to Yin's request by consulting with the other judges. Both the fighters were standing in attacking stance, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle and start the fight. Just before the whistle blew, Yin looked at Lan Fan and said, "I am not going to hold back"

"Neither am I." Lan Fan smirked.

When the whistle blew, the crowd cheered for the fighters as the fight began. Lan Fan knew that if she would give a single opening to Yin, then Yin wouldn't hesitate to take the opportunity to hit her. In order to be safe, she charged toward Yin and started raining punches without giving any room to Yin. Yin was trying to dodge every attack because blocking was not an option for an automail attack. While dodging the attacks, one punch came straight to her face, which she dodged by falling on her back on the ground, and then quickly stood up by spinning both her legs thereby hitting Lan Fan's ankle in the process. Lan Fan fell on her back due to the attack, and Yin was standing. Yin then put the weight of one foot on the automail arm so that Lan Fan couldn't use it, and she put her other foot on Lan Fan's chest so she couldn't move. Then Yin was about to use her paralyzing attack to paralyze Lan Fan's right arm, but before Yin could attack, Lan Fan used her free hand to attack at Yin's knee. Because of the attack Yin lost her balance and retreated a few steps back in order to avoid any attack. Getting the opportunity, Lan Fan quickly stood up. Lan Fan then again charged at Yin without catching a breath and started raining punches and kicks. Because of the fast punches and kicks, Yin was getting forced toward the boundary. When she thought she was in trouble, suddenly Lan Fan directed an automail punch with full force toward Yin's belly which was almost impossible to dodge. So, Yin used both her hands to block the attack and due to the force of the attack. She was pushed back just at the edge of the boundary. While Yin was catching a breath, she saw Lan Fan was charging toward her at full speed. Yin quickly dodged the incoming punch from Lan Fan by moving sideways and grabbed her automail arm. She then bent down and used her palm attack to hit the automail and shoulder joint. The attack was very vicious, and Lan Fan was fortunate that it was her automail arm that got hit by that attack. Lan Fan quickly pulled back her arm from Yin's grip, and when she was about to hit a punch, her automail arm stopped working. Watching that, Yin relaxed while Lan Fan was trying to make her automail work.

"Just yield Lan Fan," said Yin.

Lan Fan was still trying to make her automail work, but it had already taken too much damage from her fight with Victoria and now with Yin. Yin on the other hand was standing there very much relaxed. Lan Fan saw the opportunity as Yin was not on guard, so she jumped and delivered a spinning wheel kick. Yin was not expecting that attack, and she quickly used her wrist to block the attack without thinking anything. She didn't see that she was standing just at the edge of the arena, and the force from that was enough to push her out of the arena. She fell on the ground while Lan Fan was in disbelief that she defeated Yin. The same was the case for the audience present there. They couldn't believe that the person who defeated their champion so easily, was defeated by Lan Fan.


End file.
